I had the honor of photographing Desaparecidos {see the set here} once again at the House of Blues in Cleveland Saturday night, October 26, 2013. If you’ve attended a Desaparecidos, COMVB, Bright Eyes or a Conor Oberst solo show they all have something in common—the sense of family that Conor Oberst brings along with his tours, sharing the good karma that he and his band possess with each opening band that comes along with.  On Saturday night the So So Glos were enveloped in the circle of collective love for music and music making one can feel at these shows, adding even more life and energy into the evening. It occurred to me Saturday that I always take a photograph of the set list, but don’t actually record on paper or in memory the songs that are played. I think my favorite for the night was “Te Amo Camila Vallejo,” along with the brief prologue that accompanied it. AND hell yes, this country does need some brave female politicians in the mix, I would agree with that. Or the truth be told by Conor Oberst during the brief exegesis that ran in between songs, stating the black box labels that I dread hearing about in psychopharmacology: “dry eyes, dry mouth, diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, headache, and sudden death,” you know those nasty side effects that leave people wondering if the ailment they sought to treat is actually better than the ripple effect of what their doctor prescribed. I would have loved to hear more on Conor Oberst’s view on the role of pharmaceuticals in this country at the moment. Oh! I also should not fail to mention the possible zombie attack that I learned about between sets. The poor dude in this photo was bitten by a fan standing behind him when Conor Oberst made his cameo during the So So Glos. Strangest concert injury I’ve heard of yet. And pretty gross, too. It looks SO much better in the photo.

All in all I think my sister Shan has this “making our own fun” thing down to a science. All 5’2.5″ of her was completely content once again to be shook, shoved, swayed, stomped and spilled upon, all for the love. For the love of feeling the energy of the crowd, not resisting, but instead joining them, and most of all just being the positive-person-presence that every rambunctious concert needs!  As always Sisters Dissonance will come out to see their favorites when possible (even when airplanes or 400 miles of driving poses the obstacle) to make the fun we know everyone wishes they could have!

~Ady

Haiku of the Evening:

Grabbing Praying Hands

Seize fun and the sense of home

With the sound I’m one