vs. children

Date: Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Venue: Bar 355, Oakland
Music:

• Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - So Bar 355 isn't really set up for live music (rumor had it this was their first show that wasn't a DJ set), and I found the experience of being elbowed aside by a martini-swilling hipster while trying to get any sightline whatsoever on the distant stage annoying at best.  So I spent the majority of my evening on the curb outside the front door.  However!  Owen still sounded amazing out there, and I happily bobbed along to his bittersweet indie electronica in the chilly Oakland air.  He is officially retiring his CFTPA persona after he finishes this current tour and will never perform these songs live again, injecting added poignancy into what was already a heart-tugger of a set.  If you've never heard him before I highly recommend hunting down a copy of his album Pocket Symphonies for Lonely Subway Cars and savoring the lo-fi goodness.
• Otouto - This Melbourne outfit actually served as Owen's backing band after they finished their opening set, and their own music was poppy and cute, a pleasant enough warm-up.

See also: