The concert was scheduled to begin at 7pm, so I arrived at 5pm to wait. I was told that all the tables in the restaurant were reserved for the night, but that there was a small area for standing room right in front of the stage – which is exactly where I wanted to be! My friends and I hung out for a while until they told us to wait outside in a line – once they reached full capacity that was it – no one else would be let in. It was obvious that the House of Blues underestimated the size of the audience that the 100 Monkeys would bring. If they knew better they would have put them in the main concert area and charged (yup, the concert was FREE).
Luckily my friends and I were the second group in line. When they let us in we were in the second row! The stage was low, with only a low barricade separated the crowd from the band, which means that even from the second row I was only 2 feet from the stage. The standing area was very small – less than a hundred people were in that space – probably more like seventy people crammed in.
When the 100 Monkeys came out it was so exciting. Jackson hid behind the other guys for a bit, I’m sure wanting to make sure that the attention wasn’t all on him. They were funny, relaxed, and ready to play. I had seen YouTube clips of the band before, and I was surprised at just how great they sounded in person. It was easy to get into all the songs, and it was obvious that there were many big fans in the crows, singing right along with the band. I was also really impressed with their “Monkey Switcheroo”, where they switch up who plays what - guitar, drums, keyboard, etc. Jackson also played the trumpet and the harmonica. He has many talents ;)
I wasn’t sure the night could get any better when right before intermission the girls standing in front of me had to leave (um, not sure what was more important than the concert, but okay) and I moved right up to the front! The band took a break and when they came back they told a few lame, but funny jokes. They all get along really well and you can tell that they are good friends.
They played some of their new songs as well as some of their older songs. They also did another song based on an idea from the audience, made up on the spot. It involved leis and getting “leied”. At the end of the song Jackson was doing a great harmonica solo so I started taking some video, and he ended the song by telling the crowd “Aloha”. It was very cute, one of my favorite moments of the night. Well actually, my favorite moment was probably when they were closing the set and were telling the crowd thank you, and Jackson reached out and grabbed me hand. *swoon*
What a great way to end a great night.
I can’t wait to see the 100 Monkeys in concert again!
Posts
