The weekend started a night early this week, on Thursday night. For one weekend every April, Long Beach is turned into race fan central. It is this weekend that the city hosts its Grand Prix, which is kicked off by a downtown block party. In the middle of this party sits a parking lot. It is bordered by bars, apartment buildings and a well attended Hooters. It is dingy and on most days, it is full with the vehicles people paid good money to park there. For the Long Beach Grand Prix Kick Off, with a stage, some amps and great music, Lights transfixed Long Beach Grand Prix fans and turned the parking lot into a rock and roll party!
The party started before the guys officially hit the stage! During sound check, I noticed people congregating against the back wall. I wandered over to a couple who were walking their dog and stopped to listen. It turned out they lived in the apartment building close by and thought they heard Journey playing. So they came over to check it out! Same for the officers cruising by to make sure all was well. They liked what they were hearing so they stopped the car and got out for a listen. Turns out a couple of them are Journey fans and really liked what they were hearing. On the opposite end of the lot, three guys coming out of Hooters wandered over and asked what was going on. When told this was a band that plays Journey, one said, "Are they going to play Don't Stop Believing"?
When Lights hit the stage, they delivered what everyone wanted; giving the Long Beach race fans a great show! Juan, Jeff, Jonny and Casey were great as usual but it was new drummer Michael Thompson that really impressed me! With only one show with Lights under his belt, Michael did an amazing job of keeping the beat and helped the band get everyone moving and grooving! There were a lot of hands in the air, heads bopping up and down, people dancing! Walking around the crowd, I saw nothing but smiles! From "Anyway You Want It" to "Escape", by the looks on the faces in the ever-growing crowd, the band played the favorites of every one there! Yes, the band played "Don't Stop Believing" and had not only the man that was waiting for it but everyone else dancing and jumping up and down!
Playing a show outside is both a challenge and a benefit and the Lights guys rose to the occasion! The benefit of being outside is that people walking by can't help but hear the music and see the crowd having fun. Most of the people stuck around for a least a few songs if not the whole show! The music got people to stop to check out what was going on and energy of the crowd kept them around. I think the band turned Long Beach race fans into Lights fans!
No less than twenty-four hours later, the band was back in the familiar confines of the club, playing a show at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello! While the place was different, the show was no less energetic! Just like the race fans in Long Beach, the crowd in Montebello was smiling, dancing and having a great time! This was the bands second time at the club and the crowd was treated to all of their Journey favorites as well as the many talents of front man Juan Del Castillo. Juan had the crowd in hysterics with his Joe Pesci impression! Who knew he was quite the impressionist? Another highlight of the night was the song "Just The Same Way", which spotlights another multi-talented band member, Jeff! Swapping lead vocals with Juan, the song shows that Jeff isn't just a great keyboardist, he can sing as well!
So, there you have it! Back to back shows are no problem for this band! Fans from Long Beach to Montebello found out that a great time is what you can expect at a Lights show, no matter the situation. It doesn't matter whether the show is in a parking lot or in a club, on a weeknight or weekend, Lights deliver great music, high energy and a lot of fun! Like this post? Please share it, bookmark it or leave a comment.
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