Yesterday, I had the opportunity to see Mike Herrera of MXPX’s band Tumbledown. Tumbledown is self-proclaimed punk & western music. The show was a lot of fun. It was a late night show, so prior to the show I went to Starbucks and got a Venti Pike Place coffee and chugged it before entering the show. An indie rock band from Visalia opened the show called the Union. No offense, but they were your average indie rock band. After the show I talked with their drummer Mike, and found out that his older brother was friends with Sara’s brother Moose. It’s a small world. Following them was John Nolan solo from the band Starlight Run. He and his wife did a set of acoustic guitar, keyboard, and synthesizer tunes that at first I didn’t understand. It was very emotional, but the sheir passion of John’s singing won me over. He even joked during his set that for some reasons all of his songs end up depressing, but not to worry Tumbledown would make us happy. He was right. John looked like the character Daniel Faraday on Lost. Prior to Tumbledown playing, it was neat to observe how the band hung out before the show in such a small venue. Mike “the celebrate” hung out by the bar with his cousins from Fresno, the rest of the band blended in with the crowd, so it was hard to tell if they were there to see the show or play in it. Tumbledown was ready to play by about 10:25 PM, but due to microphone cable problems with the lead guitarist’s mic, they didn’t start playing until about 10:45. They were worth the wait. One observation I had was how much fun the band had playing together. They sang songs about drinking & fighting, loneliness & life, but I think especially for Mike who fronts MXPX (sometimes labeled a Christian band) singing these songs, letting loose, having some drinks unapologetically was liberating for him, and you could tell. Mike had his cousins in the crowd heckaling him, problems before the show; it was what a punk & western show should be. As far as the songs, they played tunes mostly from their full-length CD, but added the “An American Band” song cover, “Rock N Roll Girl” and “Secret Weapon” MXPX covers, and the highlight for me was when someone from the crowd yelled, “Arthur”, and Mike replied you know my middle name and my dad’s name trying to get off the topic of his other side project from 10 years ago, but Tumbledown’s bass player Wallace began playing “Thought A Lot About You” saying, “hey. We’re fans too.” The band went into trying to play the song somewhat successful, but it was a moment in the show that showed the intemiacy of set. Mid show Mike mentioned that that the band needed a shot, and sure enough John Nolan and his wife bought a round for the band. Mike told his cousin who let the band borrow her truck and trailer to get to the show because the radiator in their van cracked on their way from Stockton that he wasn’t driving the truck home tonight. The small nightowl crowd was awesome, hovering close to the stage and rawkin’ out. During the show Mike mentioned that John Nolan’s car needed to new tires and mentioned that the crowd should support them however possible. So, after the show I donated to help them and offered my brother’s the mechanics help to get them some tires, as most shops have barely used tires lying around. The show ended around 11:45PM, and I jetted out of their because I needed to get up for work at 5:30AM the next morning and I missed my wife and kids. Anyhow, I had a great time and I had to write out my memory of the show before I forgot. Tumbledown, Tuesday, 9-1-09, Starline, Fresno, CA.
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