Tommy Guerrero Live

It's Tuesday, May 16. Tommy Guerrero is playing at the Doug Fir tonight. One of only 3 performances scheduled this year thus far (the other 2 are in Florida). And, I can't talk anyone into going with me. It's only $10, go figure.

I don't have much food in the house, and I make an executive decision to eat at the Fir. I get the cheeseburger with fries and a beer. I usually find the Doug Fir's food to be passable. Never great, but not bad. Tonight was the exception. The burger was inedible. I don't mind burgers cooked medium, but this was raw in the center. I didn't feel like complaining, so I ate around the edges, and had a few fries (the most bland fries I'd had in quite a while). After finishing my beer, I settle up and head downstairs.

I arrive downstairs, and the opening band, Recall Seven is just taking the stage. They aren't bad, and remind me of a mix of the Killers and Joy Division. Again, not bad, but the music wasn't at all in line with Guerrero's.

Around 10:45, Tommy comes on stage with his self described "full band of bad mothafukas." He says that two of the guys had just flown in from the east coast that day for this show especially. They band was really solid and tight by the 3rd song (the first few songs were a bit rough, probably due to the lack of a pre-show warm-up practice). Tommy said he'd be playing songs from all his albums, basically in chronological order. I can't give you the names of many of the songs, but I can confirm that the last 3 songs came from the newest EP, 'Year of the Monkey.' Final songs: 'Archaic Days,' 'By Fist and Fury,' and 'Knives Fighting Guns' (my favorite track on the new EP, played a little slower here than on the recorded version).

The band was great, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a bassist. Guerrero is really a bassist at heart, but he played guitar all the way through. I'm pretty sure he plays all the instruments on his albums.

Tommy was terribly nice and sincere, thanking the crowd for their support in all his endeavors over the years (he is a former pro skateboarder, and was part of the legendary Bones Brigade, and has released 3 full albums and 2 EPs under his own name, a full length record with Gadget, and a number of records with his 'other' band, Jet Black Crayon). He stuck around on stage once the show was over, signing posters, set lists, and tickets. What a guy, what a show...

Check out Tommy's web site for some free MP3 downloads and more info.