Appleseed Cast at the Sail Inn  -  Mar 17th, 2011 5:11pm

Two weeks ago I went out to see The Appleseed Cast at The Sail Inn with Tara, Jon and Judy and while I wasn't too impressed with the venue, the concert really solidified for me how impressive that band is and how much I enjoy their music.

I ran across the Appleseed cast a few years back on Pandora and was pretty much hooked from the start.  Their music ranges from peaceful instrumental to blaring alt-rock, usually starting off slow and building to some level of well managed chaos ala Death Cab for Cutie.

They aren't real vocal heavy which was perfect as the acoustics at the Sail Inn are so bad you can't hear anyone sing.  Its your normal phoenix arm-pit music venue bar.  Grungy cement floor, makeshift bar stuck to the wall, sound guy in complete acoustic denial - all the necessary ingredients were measured and poured.  They do however have a really great patio out back and even an outdoor stage that would be awesome to see in action.  They also have a few tables and chairs inside which is rare in my experience.

When they finally ran out of opening acts @11:00, the difference between Appleseed and their traveling companions was immediately apparent.  They all played the same kind of music, but Appleseed are just really fantastic musicians.  Where it felt like the other bands were pushing their music onto me - trying to convince me with volume and tempo, these guys drew me in and made you want to stay there.... Course that could have been a few too many rum and cokes, but I really enjoyed their set even if I never heard a word they said.

I should mention 2 last things before I go.  1) These guys were much older/stranger than I expected.  I'm impressed and grateful they are still touring at dives like that, but they stopped playing and left without saying a word.  This came off really odd and made them seem a bit pretentious.  2) I have no idea how to qualify the crowd that night.  Maybe post-hipster twenty-something white people?  Regardless - every single person in there seemed to be wearing a flannel or hoodie and sported either a beard or thick black glasses.  Its like there was a memo I missed telling folks to nerd up?  Oh well... I guess us geeks can't even figure out how to be in style when the in style is us!

Sadly I don't have any good photos or video of this event as my phones camera was scratched beyond use.  You'll just have to use the power of imagination.... or whatever other power you happen to have on hand.