Venue: The Troubadour
City: Hollywood, CA
Set length: A little less than an hour
Tonight’s Lineup:
My second time seeing this band and, I hate to say it, was a little let down. Let me back up… Last Saturday, when I was walking across Santa Monica Blvd. from the parking lot I saw the marquee above the venue and was pleasantly excited to see Mellowdrone on the bill as I didn’t know who else was playing that night so it was a complete surprise. Back up a few years… I saw them many years ago (‘02 or ‘03) when they played with Ken Andrews, also at the Troubadour, at which time I picked up their “a demonstration of intellectual property” CD. They caught me off guard that night and I immediately took to them and placed them at the top of my local band favorites list. Fast forward back to tonight… I’m not sure why but I felt like something was lacking in tonight’s performance. Maybe it was just that I had higher expectations for them to take me back to that first time and make me feel like I was seeing something new that nobody else knew about. Don’t get me wrong, I still like the band a lot and urge you to pick up their music as I feel like you are missing out if you have never heard them. In order of release, check out Box, Maquina EP, and then Angry Bear. There are also a bunch of other releases you can check out at their website but start with those three. Believe me, if I think a band simply sucks I would state it without hesitation but Mellowdrone is very much a good band that may have had an off night – or maybe I was off, who knows. Seriously, check ‘em out…
www.Mellowdrone.com
