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So Friday was my girlfriend's birthday. A few months ago, however, I had noticed that Kings of Leon and the Secret Machines were playing Asheville's Orange Peel on the same day. (great club, btw) I was kind of grooving on KoL's newest album and Scott had recently picked up The Secret Machines, which I also dug. Sounded like a very sweet show to me. Being the very good girlfriend that she is, I was allowed to take her to the concert for her birthday. (and, in the process, miss a rehearsal dinner for a wedding. Score!)

Took the day off work, caught "The 40-Year Old Virgin" by way of an interesting sequence of events that might, at some point, be described elsewhere, and then headed over to the Orange Peel for the show. (If you haven't seen that movie, btw. Go see it.)

Back? Good. It was funny, wasn't it?

Onwards... The show. Sold out. Everytime I've been to the Orange Peel (www.theorangepeel.net) it has sold out. I'm either picking good shows, or that place is making a killing. 942 Max Cap. @ $25 each. Nice. But I digress. I didn't realize there would be an opening band, but my penchant for showing up early to places that aren't work paid off nicely. Ran into a guy named Scott (who I saw get a ticket for FREE before the show) while he was hitting on Allison, and he mentioned that he was there for the opening band - The Helio Sequence. The drummer, Benjamin Weikel, also tours with Modest Mouse, hence the excitement. Well. That's pretty damned cool. I guess. I'm kind of into them as well even though they also gave Charlotte the shaft. (The city, not my roommate's girlfriend... as far as I know.) Do I ramble too much? Does anyone care?

To make a short story long, the band (i.e. two guys, a drumkit, a guitar, a synth, and a harmonica) head up to stage and plunge right into the extremely infectious "Harmonica Song." And, holy crap, what was I hearing? I absolutely loved it from the beginning to end. They seemed to have a bit of technical difficulties with the vox being a bit too low, but it didn't matter. The musicality (is that a word) of the song was SO engaging that the missing lyrics were hardly noticeable to a novice such as I. I noticed the guy in front of me dancing like a fool during the first song, so I asked him afterwards what song that was... what album... you know... dumb but interested questions. He told me. Which was nice. Only later was I to realize that the guy dancing like a fool was, in fact, the guitarist for The Secret Machines - Ben Curtis. Stupid ignorance. I wish I could give a setlist or any kind of informed opinion about what I had witnessed on stage but, alas, I know little more than that I was amazed. Weikel, even if I was deaf, would have been a joy to watch. He is one of the most animated drummers I've ever seen. Having the drumkit at the front of the stage certainly helped, but he really seemed like he was having a great time and was completely absorbed by what he was doing. As for Brandon, I was hardly certain that the sounds coming out of his guitar half the time were actually coming out of his guitar. And I loved that too. Very tight band. Very very exciting to watch. And extremely aurrally engaging.

The Helio Sequence's ownership of the stage was far too short for my tastes. 20, maybe 30, minutes. And I really really wanted more. I sauntered (yes, sauntered) over to the merch table after the set and there sat lead singer/guitarist Brandon Summers pushing his musical drugs at the table while happily signing albums and talking to everyone who came by. So I waited in line only to have my fears confirmed that the presence of the little money bag in Brandon's hand did, in fact, mean that cash was the only accepted bartering tool at that table. Dammit to hell. So I gave the obligatory compliment about the music, signed up for the email list and shuffled back to the bar. Beer should make it ok.

Lest I forget, The Secret Machines and Kings of Leon did actually play at the concert as well. TSM were really amazing, and I'm kind of surprised they were able to pull of the sound from their album in a live setting. The feel of the first part of their set was really mellow, however, and I kind of wanted to be at home on the couch instead of standing in a club. Towards the end they REALLY shifted modes and ended with both "Nowhere Again" and "First Wave Intact" in the final three songs of the set. And THEN is when I wanted to hear more. Grrrr. Back to the bar.

Then outside for the set break where we ended up talking to a Scottish/Irish guy named Ewen (sp??) and his German-spawned friend, David. (I think) 'twas nice, but the only story I had was a memory of being in Scotland and following a group of guys singing a rousing rendition of "If you hate the fucking Germans, clap your hands." Yeah. So we went back in. And Kings of Leon started. And the lead singer reminded me of Evan Dando for some reason. Dispite two more trips to the bar, I still just couldn't get into their set. They were tight and relatively fun to watch on stage. Dude's voice is very original and interesting, but if you're going to play music like that, you just can't follow The Helio Sequence and The Secret Machines. I may have been tired b/c I'm getting old. Or just bored due to the contrast, but the KoL set just wasn't very exciting to me at all. We actually ended up heading out about half-way through their set. I never got to hear them ask if I was too good to tango with a poor poor boy, which is all I really wanted from them, but the night was, nevertheless, amazing. On the way out, I noticed that Helio's drummer was now sitting at their merch table as well. Got to shake his hand as well and impart my valuable opinion that The Helio Sequence was the best band of the night.

I had gone to a Kings of Leon concert and come away with a new appreciation for The Secret Machines and an incredible infatuation with The Helio Sequence. I've ordered the vinyl and the CD from Sub Pop. I can't wait. You can download two full tracks off the newest album (Love and Distance) as well as check out the video for "Harmonica Song" here: The Helio Sequence

I highly suggest that you do so.