(sorry, this ended up being pretty long...)

I was really looking forward to Saturday night's Butter fix.... most of my show friends were in CO for RRE but I was stuck in San Diego because I had to work, and on Saturday too! I was sooo bummed. But then Butter & TLG announced their tour, which included a stop in SD at a new venue on the beach, The Wavehouse (www.wavehouse.com/home.asp) in Mission Beach. The Wavehouse has been there for a few years as a restaurant & bar, but I had never been. It's in an area of San Diego that's inhabited mostly by tourists & drunk college kids, and is right next to the beach boardwalk amusement park, Belmont Park (complete w/ an old wooden roller coaster). As the name implies, they have an endless wave machine that you can try to surf on. It's right next to another venue, Cane's, which I'm not a big fan of, so I wasn't sure what to expect from the Wavehouse.

I spoke to Nat before the show and asked him what the venue was like. His response: "I feel like I'm on 90210." LOL, about as I expected. That whole area along the boardwalk has the 90210 vibe going on.

The show was to start at 8:00, but my ride was late picking me up so I heard Busted in Utah as I was walking up, trying to find the entrance. I waited "patiently" in line and finally got in to the venue about half-way through The Fox. I freakin LOVED the venue! It's outdoors, and set up all beach-party style, with fire pits and hammock chairs, and chairs/tables along the sides & in the back. There were wooden walkways & multiple bars, and SAND! The stage was huge too, and was set up so you could either dance in the sand, or on the walkways. The sound was great, and was loud enough to hear wherever you were, even from outside the fence on the beach. And, there were in & out priveleges too! My only complaint, and it wasn't really MY complaint as I don't drink that much, was that the drinks were pretty pricey. But I'm told it was comparable to the House of Blues, and really, what else would you expect from a themed beach bar amidst a boardwalk amusement park?

On to the show itself... I loved the show! They played a good mix of old favorites, and a few newer ones I hadn't heard them play before, including the Paul Simon cover Duncan and a Mother Hips cover, with a few California songs thrown in for good measure. Honkeytonk Tequilla had Bryan, Aaron, & Nat chugging Patron on stage. The drummer for TLG came out for 2 songs, which added a nice extra layer to their sound. I have to admit, I do like percussion! The show ended w/ a smokin Cumberland Blues that had us all kicking up sand and singing along.

TLG was on next, and my calves were aching from the extra workout that goes along with dancing on sand, so I found the friends I went there with and we planted ourselves on a wooden boardwalk right between the soundboard and one of the bars. Since the stage was so big (& tall), I had no problem seeing from there. And of course the sound was awesome right there next to the sbd! I'm not all that familiar w/ their stuff, but I enjoyed their set. I love Trevor Garrod's voice. It's very distinctive and somewhat mesmerizing. It was also easier to enjoy the light show from back there, as you get a good vantage of the whole stage, plus I wasn't at a height where the lights were shining right into my eyes (which was a slight problem while I was dancing up front). Erik sat in for a song on flute, which I thought was a beautiful addition to the TLG sound. TLG is definitely a rockin band. At one point, Josh Clark stood alone, center stage, head back, eyes closed and fingers flying as he shredded away, while white lights went off behind him and illuminated him in silhouette. Wow. I finally get why all those early twenty-something boys look up to him the way they do. He really is a rock god.

All in all, a fun show in a super fun new venue! It was only the 2nd "big" show ever held there, the first being Fishbone the night before. I loved it! As this is pretty new to them, I'm hoping they don't make many changes to their current policies (like in/out privs!), and I hope they keep booking bands I like there. Winston's is still my favorite local bar, but that's just b/c I live w/in walking distance. But it's closer than the Belly Up, and it is CERTAINLY better than the SD House of Blues!