Quiet Company House Show

In late May one of my favorite Texas bands, Quiet Company, asked if anyone in Houston would be interested in hosting a little house show pre-Summerfest. In the wild world of Facebook, I was the first to throw my hand up and yell "I volunteer as tribute!" I mean, who wouldn't want one of their favorite bands to play in their living room?

The night ended up as one of my favorite shows of theirs that I've ever been to, and rather than tell you all about it myself...I thought I'd let Twitter do the work. Click on for all the fun - and misadventures - had at my Quiet Company House Show!


In the Austin area? Don't miss QC's stellar three-set show happening this Saturday at Hotel Vegas. Grab a ticket before they're all gone! See ya there.

#bestsongsallweek - Friday, June 8, 2012

My all-time favorite band, The Beach Boys, released some new music this week. I wasn't exactly holding my breath, hoping for another Brian Wilson masterpiece or anything...but I was excited to own a new record. I gave the thing a couple listens first thing Tuesday morning via Spotify before heading over to Cactus Music to grab a copy. I didn't hate it, but it left me with a general sense of indifference (save the title track - I really like that one...even if the notion a radio-centric existence is severely dated). It's like that line in "10 Things I Hate About You": I wasn't overwhelmed or underwhelmed...I just felt whelmed.

Win some, lose some right? All that matters is that because of this album and because of the band's 50th anniversary, I get to see them - and by them I mean Brian Wilson - live tonight. I guess this will count as Beach Boys concert #4. I've seen Mike Love & Bruce Johnston twice in recent years and made the trek to Kansas City in 2005 (I lived in Tulsa at the time) to see Brian Wilson when he toured in support of his release of "Smile" - which was easily THE best night of my life.

In preparation for tonight, I've spent most of the week listening to my favorite Beach Boys songs. I fell in love with this band at the tender age of seven. I can't count the number of times I've listened to them - probably enough to fill three lifetimes - but their music never gets old. And I attribute that to Brian Wilson's mastermind, layering every song with so many elements that even today, after listening to "God Only Knows" one million times, I still manage to pick out a tiny piece of music or vocal I'd never noticed before.

So when I started thinking about this week's best song post, I had a hard time narrowing it down. I have four songs in particular that have been in heavy rotation lately, and though I could write for days about what "In My Room" means to me or how I love the bridge of "Good Vibrations" so much it gives me chills every time I listen to it...we'll stick with these four as the best songs of my week.

"Wouldn't It Be Nice"

I love the notion of this song. 'Hey, we do pretty well together...wouldn't it be better if we were together ALL the time?' I realized last time I saw The Beach Boys, their lyrics are what I've always expected life to be. I'd like to still believe the kind of love described in this song exists out there, somewhere. I've always felt like the lyrics are a precursor to the devotion of "God Only Knows". These songs often get back-to-back listens.

"Help Me, Rhonda"

When I was little, I was so disappointed I could never find a song with my name in it. There were so many other names, why not Miranda? Then one day while listening to "Help Me, Rhonda" I realized if you kind of blurred 'me' and 'Rhonda' it kinda sounded like my name. (Hey, I was 10. It made sense.) Ever since this song has held a little something special that makes me smile anytime I hear it. 

"Don't Worry Baby"

This song bridges the gap between surf guitar, The Beach Boys beautiful slow songs and their classic love themes. There's lots of other songs that you can point to and say "That's the Beach Boys sound," but for me it's "Don't Worry Baby."

"God Only Knows"

Now, forever and always my absolutely favorite Beach Boys song. It's simple. It's beautiful. It's perfect. It will be the song I dance to at my wedding - I've never been the type of girl to daydream about flowers, dresses, etc. for that 'someday' wedding...but since I was about nine, I've known the song my husband and I will dance to.

What are some of the best songs you've heard this week and why?

Backstage with @the71s

Little over a week ago, I went to check out The 71's and Bright Light Social Hour at Warehouse Live. The 71's let me tag along with them for the night for a little behind-the-scenes look at what a typical show is like for them...and it kicks off a series of posts I'm calling "Backstage with The Good Groupie." In the coming months, I hope to hang out with some of my favorite Texas bands and share some behind-the-scenes moments with you, dear reader. Got a suggestion or want to be featured? E-mail me.

5:46 p.m. I hop in my car at work and set out on my first mission of the night: FIND COFFEE. It's been a long, sleepless week and I'm feeling it. As I head over to Starbucks for my cup-o-corporate-coffee, I cue up my iPod and start where I left off that morning: listening to The 71's "Rock & Roll Reaction Vol. 2." I know it's lame to listen to the band you're about to go see...but I'm kind of obsessed with their cover of "American Girl" recently. Plus it's a really great little EP to rock out to.

6:13 p.m. Arrive at Warehouse Live and meet up with the band's fantastic manager, Lee. She and I have become fast Facebook buddies in recent weeks, and it's a pleasure to finally meet in person. She introduces me to Tank & Jacob's parents - super nice, and I love that they're the kind of parents that come to shows - and we chat until the band arrives.

6:25 p.m. We head around back at the venue to meet up with the guys. They've just arrived straight from Corpus Christi where they played the previous night with BLSH. First question out of everyone's mouth? How did THIS happen. Hey - it's not rock-n-roll if it's not an adventure, right?

6:43 p.m. The 71's load in, and I smile when I notice Jackson Potts up on stage with them (bottom left in collage), snapping away photos. I went to his Rock & Roll Portraits gallery opening last year - and absolutely loved his work. Did I mention he's only 12?

7:01 p.m. Merch booth set-up time. While the 71's put the finishing touches on their set-up, I help Lee and her lovely friend LeAnne lay out the merch table. T-shirts, CDs, rope lights...I realize for the first time how hard it is to be creative with a single table, some T-shirts and a stack of CDs. There's a certain art to laying out a merch table, and though I'm not sure we've mastered it...I thought we did a pretty decent job. I have new-found appreciation for all the DIY bands out there who capture my attention with their creative displays.

7:15 p.m. After lead singer Keeton is done discussing tonight's filming of the show (to be used for a future music video - very cool!) with the director, I get to steal a few minutes of his time. We sit down backstage in Warehouse Live's prop room - surrounded by extra couches, tons of plywood and band equipment, and we chat a little bit about The 71's amazing $13,500 Kickstarter campaign and the new album, which they've been hard at work on in Dallas for the last couple of weeks: