Sure, it’s fun to put on a Sense Field cd and jump around your room or sing along in your car, but it’s another experience entirely to witness a whole crowd jumping around and singing along with you as you watch the musicians who created the music perform every note and lyric that you’ve memorized by heart.
I got to the Troubadour early enough to see the first act Crash Cart. They're OK
I was pleasantly surprised to see Sunday's Best take the stage next. I guess they were added to the line up at the last minute. I like watching them live. I can't ever look at their drummer and not smile. He's like one big teddy bear of energy. I have their 7inch called "Sons of the Second String" and it's very good. I highly recommend Sunday's Best to any Sense Field fan.
Then came Farside. They're not really my thing, but some of the guitar was pretty cool.
Then came the dramatic wait for Sense Field to take the stage.
As the band members started to come on stage you could see the excitement in everyone there. It was obvious that everyone was a big fan.
Jon Bunch finally went up on stage and they opened with Overstand. The audience suddenly came alive, throwing their fists in the air and screaming the lyrics at the top of their lungs. You could see the energy of the audience reflected by the energy of Jon's performance. He was all over the place, playfully convulsing to the rhythm of the music. He couldn't stay away from the audience for too long and so would come right up and hover overhead the crowd causing them all to scream louder and raise their hands to the rhythm.
Then they kicked into Outlive the Man and the crowd exploded into a wild sea of kids jumping and flailing their arms all about. I was at the front of the crowd and the people at the front of the crowd were craziest.
The audience was calmed slightly from Sage, but the excitement was still high and you could hear them singing the lyrics over the P.A. system. And then the song Building erupted the crowd into the largest frenzy of the night. I don't remember ever seeing a mosh pit at a Sense Field show, and while it didn't compare to anything I've seen at the Deftones' shows that I used to go to, bodies were slamming into each other and it became impossible to stand still. But it was all in good fun, no one was violent or anything like that. Then they played Trip Poem which sounds much more energetic live. It was one of the highlights of the show for me. The other highlights of the show were Every Reason, Dreams, and Nothing Between Us. I've never heard them play Dreams or Nothing Between Us live before, so it was a treat for me. They were done beautifully. Jon introduced dreams as one of those slow dance songs we had to learn in elementary school. And Every Reason was a lot of fun as always.
Throughout the show it was fun to see Rob busting out on the drums. He was very into it. Chris always seems to keep his cool when playing live. He looks pretty serious up there. Rodney was smiling often playing his guitar, and when they encored with Soft, he got his chance to sing. John Stockberger was smoking a cigarette while playing the bass throughout the whole show. I asked him about this afterward and he said that earlier when they were sound checking they made him put out his cigarette because it's illegal to smoke in indoor public places in California. But he was pissed with them because there wasn't anyone there yet, so why should they care? And so to spite them he lit up on stage and smoked a cigarette while performing because they weren't going to stop the show to tell him to put it out. He said he hoped they got a fine. He's a funny guy.
Jon Bunch was very animated throughout the show, making many hand gestures which emphasized his singing. He was constantly taunting the crowd and at one point leaned into a crowd of outstretched arms which were grabbing and pulling at him while he sung. I saw one hand reach out and tickle his armpit causing him to spring back onto the stage to continue his song.
Here is the play list for the show:
They ended the show with a double encore of Love Song and Soft.
The show was very energetic and a lot of fun. It was obvious that the fans loved them so much. I can't imagine any label not jumping immediately on the opportunity to sign this group. With music this good, and shows this fun, and fans this dedicated, I don't see how Sense Field can remain the music industry's best kept secret for long.
