Raven Tower and GIVERS
I just went to White Oak Music Hall for the first time Memorial Day weekend for their Memorial Day Blowout, and had a spectacular time of it. The weather was perfect around dusk, with a nice cool breeze to offset the blazing heat of the day, and the rain stayed at bay, which was nice considering Houston has literally been drowning in floodwaters. I took the time to go to the GIVERS show mostly because both of my roommates and my good friends were all going. The band is from Lafayette, I’ve been told I know the members or at least one or two, but none of the names and faces ring a bell, and I’m usually pretty good with that stuff.
I stopped at Brooklyn Athletic Club first to say hello to one of my other crews and to say goodbye and safe travels to a friend in town traveling to go back home to Portland and then Costa Rica for the summer (lucky girl). Apparently, $8 burgers on Tuesdays are a thing, even though BAC says their special is $4 Karbach on Tuesdays, and bocce ball is way more competitive than I ever gave it credit for. I’m only used to seeing it played by old Italian men, in Italy, and we play sometimes at my friends house, but it is a legit thing. If you are interested in bocce in Houston, Brooklyn Athletic Club is the spot to go. The games are coordinated through Major League Bocce.
On to the rest of the night...
The Venue: Raven Tower.
This was my first time at Raven Tower on the east side of downtown, the new venture of the Pegstar music group who used to bring acts into Fitzgerald’s. My first question was what the heck is it? It’s kind of an eyesore in my opinion. It’s just this really strange blue box that has a great view of downtown Houston. A friend of a friend said that it had something to do with the cemetery near there. The upstairs is a private residence that was briefly open to the public, but then access was revoked because people had died. I searched the Interwebs, I could not find any supporting evidence to any of these claims. Unfortunately, the only thing I found was a Chron article detailing the tower closing that said it was originally built in the 1970’s as some metal fabrication/bachelor pad shop. That makes sense. It’s a big metal box, with no attention to design.
The setup is a garage-like area that houses a stage and makeshift outdoor bar. Yeah, that’s fine I guess, but the space could definitely do with some fan action on hot, humid Houston summer nights. My first WTF moment, however, was walking in. I could not find the entrance. There was a door, and then there was a door man with wristbands, but there wasn’t a box office, I was confused because I had bought a Will Call ticket, which leads me to my next point. I bought a Will Call ticket, but all I did when I got to the ticket guy was give him my ID, and then he checked my name off on a screen. No freaking paper ticket. Ok, so let me get this straight… You made me pay an $1.00 for Will Call, even though there was no physical ticket?! I get paper tickets to as many shows as possible for an ongoing personal project for my hypothetical offspring. Not cool, Raven Tower, not cool.
So I walk in and the first thing I notice is how bright it is in the space between the garage/band area and the other outdoor/patio bar area. My first thought was, I kid you not, “I miss Fitzgerald’s.” And for all the people who complain about the bathrooms and the darkness and dinginess of Fitz’s, that’s what I liked… the story… the character… the imperfections. This hallway felt so new and blinding. Whatever, I can get past it, but I cannot get past my next WTF moment…
The Acoustics
Good lord, that could have possibly been one of the worst sounding shows I’ve ever been to. No seriously, the mic kept getting weird feedback and the instruments all sounded tinny. I love live music, and am very rarely disappointed by any live show, but this was just bad, and then it gets worse…
GIVERS
I skipped the opening band, sorry Brass Bed, but I went to high school with two guys from the band, so I’ve seen them perform a few times at private house parties and what not, and l had to make my stop into BAC. I walked in right as the GIVERS were starting. The band’s setup was cool, the lighting was pretty and they had some dead flora on stage which gave it a forest nymph-y type feel which is fine in my book. Admittedly, I am not at all familiar with their music, so I listened to a few of the songs from their new album, which I actually like well enough, but the first few songs they performed fell flat for me, so I opted to explore the patio while my friend took a smoke break, but I would find out when I came back that there was a bigger reason for a flat, lackluster performance.
Tiffany Lamson, I’d say the lead singer, however, her and Taylor Guarisco share vocals, was sick. Like puking in a trashcan on the side of the stage sick. When I came back into the garage/band area, she was nowhere to be found, and then my friends informed me that she wasn’t feeling well. Well that sucks, so what are they going to do now? Refund my money? No, the show went on with Taylor singing alone, and it was just kind of meh. A few songs later, thankfully, Tiffany returned, because she does have an amazing voice, and continued to sing.
During their performance of Up, Up, Up, which is the song that brought them fame and is notoriously upbeat, she looked like she wanted to die. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I felt really bad for the girl, and I don’t know why she went on stage. I don’t think I would be able to sing after vomiting. I just want to curl up into my bed and not move, but nope, she got back on stage, and then gave the rest of the show a weird vibe because she clearly did not want to be up there. It was a new experience for me to say the least.
I hope she feels better, and I’m curious to go back to Raven Tower to see if the acoustic issue was a problem of the band or the venue. I guess I liked it well enough to give it another go. It was a strange evening, but I don’t know what I was expecting on a Tuesday anyway.