Gig Report: 1/6/2023 Planets in the Ocean at the Central

Show poster, hooray

Had our first show of the year last night. There's a band called Purusa out of Portland that Stereo Embers played with a few times. They have a friend named Will that sort of manages them and he keeps in touch with me via text every once in a while. He's seen Sunset Grooves and goes to a lot of shows. He asked to have PITO play with Purusa and Left Hand Smoke (legendary in the 90s in these parts, but I'd never seen them). Not only that, but the gig was at the Central Saloon, which was also legendary in the 90s, but these days, I think it's more of a stomping ground for up-and-coming bands.

Which says a bit about PITO now, as what are we but an up-and-coming band?

For whatever reason, it was an early show, with us hitting the stage at 8pm. I think it may be due to the fact that Pioneer Square, where the Central is, has fallen on some tough times. It could be sketchy there in the 90s and 2000s, and now in the 20s, I think is still sketchy.

Sound check was at 7pm and though we went first, we got to check as the headliners were nowhere to be found. We got up and slagged through a song and got to take a tight 10 to chill for a minute. I was a little concerned as the stage sound was not fantastic. I decided to travel light and use the in-house backline, which was a GK 1000 amp and NEO 410.

what a crappy picture of a weird sounding rig

On stage, the sound was not great. I don't know if it was my pedals, or my bass (T-bird), or what. The cabinet was about a foot off the ground behind me. I had the sound guy dial in some bass in the floor monitor as well. I kept messing with the mids dials on the amp and I just could not hear my bass.

The Central has upped its game with a full lighting rig as well and though it did look cool from the floor, on stage, whenever the main lights would go dark, I couldn't see the markers on my bass's neck. That's been an ongoing issue for me; either I need to get some Wite-Out or play a different bass.

As we took the stage finally, Robb didn't have set lists printed, but luckily we only have so many songs, so he sort of just called them out. We started with The Loud Silence and off we went. As mentioned above about the sound on stage, I just couldn't get comfortable. I'm starting to realize as well that though I'm better at playing a with a pick these days, doing so in practice vs on stage are two different things. Stamina-wise, I was fine, but maybe it was a combo of new band nerves, can't hear anxiety and can't see annoyance that made me feel off. I just couldn't get a good feel for anything up there.

During the set, not only did we have the light show, they dialed up the fog machine as well. I think it was mainly to show off the cool light beams and such, but it made for a mess up on stage.

check the cool beams of light in the fog

We made our way through the set and for the most part, if I'm being objective, I think it went pretty well. As horrible as I may think a set went for any band I've been in, the reality is, it always ends up being pretty good. The "you are your own worst critic" really rings true here. But that's not to say there weren't any train wrecks. We have our "theme" song, Planets in the Ocean, where there's an instrumental bridge and let's just say that the three of us were not on the same page. Luckily, we made it through, but it was a bit messy.

awkward band photos

I think we'll have to revisit our set list as well. Part of this band's focus is to not limit stuff. So Robb has a keyboard he busts out for a song and though the transition isn't terrible, to stop everything so he can take a few minutes to set up can be awkward. We've discussed opening with the song, so maybe we can try that in the future. Or maybe we pivot that song to a "studio only" type tune.

Moving on, our friends Kris and Zach in Purusa took the stage. It was supposed to be a full band show for them (they are a four piece), but their drummer was suffering from some health issues and was unable to participate. Talking to Kris was cool; his band is based in Portland and they come up to Seattle a few times a year to play. He says the PDX rock scene is sad as there's only one or two clubs that offer stages for rock bands to play. Otherwise it's all singer/songwriter stuff or heavy metal. Kris and Zach did a really outstanding acoustic set. He has an incredible voice (like Chris Daughtry) and great charisma on stage. Zach has cool-guy swagger and is really fantastic as well.

During their set, the aforementioned Left Hand Smoke finally started showing up. Cass commented that it had been a minute since he'd seen any headliner show up during the second band's set. Talk about a power move! We thought they may have ghosted the gig. And with the ultimate power move, one of their guitarists showed up as the rest of the band was setting up. They were a 5 piece, with 2 guitars, bass, drums and keys/vocals. They were super tight and pro, but to me, ultimately pretty bland. It was like if Maroon 5 and the Blues Brothers had a baby that had no soul and no stage presence. I felt like they were the type of band that would be in the background of a bar scene in a movie. Adequate, but forgettable. Actually, I told Cass they reminded me of the Chuck E Cheese band. Standing in place, moving like robots. But, in their defense, with 5 people on stage, it was pretty limiting in what they could do.

All in all, a nice night at the Central. I feel like there was a decent crowd for us. We had some "VIPs" in the room, with Eva from the Black Tones and KEXP there. She's played us a few times on the radio, hopefully that continues and grows. Made a couple bucks and got some nice feedback from the people that were there.

Up next: Sunset Grooves on 1/29 at the Spanish Ballroom.