Spose Saturday; PDANK XMAS Seven Recap
A few weeks later and this is still my favorite Spose show I've ever been to.
PDANK XMAS is a tradition like none other for Spose and PDANK fans and this year I got to experience my first one and it was electric beyond belief.
The day of the show, my family and I got into Portland, hit some breweries, and made a stop by Electric Buddha where it felt like you walked into a time machine. I thought it was the coolest store of all time as I rummaged through cds and vinyl records.
I ended up walking out of the store with the Goo Goo Dolls Greatest Hits Volume One: The Singles album, the Bruce Springsteen Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J. album, a Grateful Dead poster, and some band stickers.
While we were hitting our favorite spots in Portland, the snow is slowly accumulating. By the time my dad and I left the hotel to walk to the Aura, there had to have been three to four inches on the ground.
We trudged through the elements and reached the Aura at like 7:10.
Doors opened at 7:30 and my dad and I posted up right on the right side of the stage. We seem to have mastered the technique of getting up to the stage, leaning, and putting your elbows out to make it where people aren’t going to crowd you.
Spose kept to his word, doors open at 7:30, music starts at 9 sharp.
Mulana @Larrianna__
@spizzyspose what time is doors? I swear I saw something that said 7:30 but i cant find it nowOnce the clock struck 9, Spose and the Humans took the stage. They opened the seventh annual PDANK XMAS show with the song Knocking on Wood which absolutely slapped.
The greatest part of the opener was Spose paying homage to Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan as he rocked silver pants and a ZERO tee shirt. To go with the Pumpkins gear, he sported a new hair color, purple and green with Yeezy boots.
Spose and the Humans ran through some new and old songs like Alternative Radio, and two of my new favorites, World Wars Blues and Here We Go Again.
Towards the end of that set with the Humans, Spose brought out Crucify Aidan to perform their song Alien from the new album, Get Rich or Die Ryan. Crucify Aidan absolutely SHREDS.
Following the nine song set list with the Humans, the Humans left the stage and just Spose returned with a wardrobe change. He ditched the silver pants and ZERO top for a not so flashy fit, but did rock what appeared to be purple and green, high top Nike Dunks to match his hair color.
This part of the show was a DJ set list where the King of Maine performed twelve songs. The best feature of this part of the show was how Spose had different backgrounds for each song whether it was a graphic or the corresponding music video to the song.
Nine songs in, Spose brought out his second special guest of the night Jeff Beam. The two performed the song Close To Me where Spose raps about the consequences of decisions dimming his future and Jeff Beam rocks the chorus.
When Close To Me concluded, Beam exited the stage and Cam Groves entered.
Groves and Spose played Casey Macs, one of my all time favorites and what I think is the best song off of We Smoked It All Four.
Cam Groves stayed out on stage to do I’m Awesome with Spose and then to do All You Need Is You with J.Spin and Spose which has a pretty cool music video. One that shows what life is like when you haven’t blown up yet vs when you have and how everyone starts to love you.
J.Spin coming out for All You Need Is You kicked off his short set list. His first song was Granted featuring Spose. When Granted ended, Spose exited the stage for a quick break before returning a few songs later to perform Home with J.Spin.
I liked the set J.Spin did, but I wish he could have had a few more songs and done some of my favorites like These Days or Million Dollars, but that’s just me being selfish.
Following J.Spins set, the Flobots came out and began setting up their equipment. It was like watching a NASCAR pit crew goto work as the band plugged their guitars in and adjusted speakers in a quick manner.
Now I went to the show to hear Spose and J.Spin and the Flobots were a bonus because I had never really listened to them prior. Of course I knew the hits like Handlebars and Fight With Tools, but outside of that I was lost.
While I wasn’t really a Flobots fan before the show, it is safe to say I walked out of the Aura reformed into a fan. I got back to the hotel and immediately started downloading their music on Apple Music.
The Flobots opened up with There’s A War/Stand Up. It was very interesting the way the group opened because Sarah Hubbard on the violin, Sean Blanchard on the bass, Andy Rok on guitar, and Kenny O on drums were the only members on stage.
Then, the four on the stage began to play their instruments when Brer Rabbit climbed to the podium above Kenny O and Jonny 5 ran out and began rapping. That’s when Rabbit jumped down from the podium and the two emcees began flowing.
The Denver based alternative hip hop group ran through a few more songs including Mayday, Cracks In The Surface, and Cowboy. Then Andy Rok spoke to the crowd about unity and that the band would be covering the Turtles song Happy Together.
It was awesome. They took the Turtles slow pace and cranked it to a hundred while simultaneously getting the audience involved.
Following Happy Together, the band ripped off an awesome final five songs that included Fight With Tools, Good Soldier, Handlebars, The Circle In The Square, and capped their performance off with Rise.
Just a great and electrifying performance.
One of the neat things about the Flobots performance was how they spoke to the audience. At first I felt as if they were pushing a political agenda, but when I really listened to what they were saying and the lyrics in their words, they just want everyone to be equal and united.
And what I liked most about their message was that it wasn’t bullshit. They genuinely want people to be unified to fight back against evil forces and powers.
When the Flobots had removed all of their equipment and instruments from the stage, Spose and the Humans made a return to the stage for a six song encore. Spose once again changed his kicks to another pair of purple and green Nike Dunks.
Spose wasn’t the only wardrobe change though. Guitarist KG Freeze through on a blazer to match with guitarist Dave Gutter while drummer Ryan Curless sported a a red track suit.
The encore began with a classic about losing direction in your life, We All Got Lost.
They then followed it up with Parasite, great song, and I Wanna Be Sedated, but on the set list they cut out one of my new favorites, Sieve. When he performed that in Cambridge at the Sonia it was an unreal experience because he whispers towards the end and the drums and guitars then slam right back in. I really wish Sieve didn’t get cut.
Songs four and five in the encore saw a special guest in Luke Mallet. He took the stage to play guitar for the song Off Road and then stayed on for 03 Altima which I would argue is the best song that Spose does live.
He starts the song off like he’s going to make it a rock version, but then quickly switches over after he’s lured you in.
The final song of the night was Shining, which is typically a six minute song, but I think this version was twenty five minutes and I had no objections. When the song technically ended, Dave Gutter and KG Freeze started shredding on the guitar.
The duo was rolling around on the floor, playing the guitar behind their necks, and sweating intensely through their blazers. Just a perfect way to end the night.
All I can say now is, I’m ready for PDANK XMAS 8.
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