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Gonzo Report: Almost Monday at The Music Box
Sold-out show marks them as almost famous
My first concert of the new year invovled catching San Diego’s very own Almost Monday performing a sold-out show in their hometown on a pleasant, mid-January night. The venue was the multi-level Music Box — a three-tier oddity in the world of concert venues, but a fun destination nonetheless.
I ended up at the show thanks to my brother-in-law, Chris, who became an Almost Monday fan after hearing them on his go-to Pandora playlist: Hipster BBQ. “This is how I primarily find the music I like,” he told me. “Pandora plays it and then I find them on Spotify and run through the albums. That’s what got me on Kenny Wayne Shepherd most recently.” Chris had talked up the band over the holidays when we were visiting him in San Francisco and treated us to a selection of their songs while driving us through the downpour brought on by an atmospheric river. The band seemed cool and we survived the drive, so my wife and I decided to join him for this gig, which he had managed to wrangle into the back end of a work trip.
For anyone who's curious, January seems to be a prime month to secure street parking spots in Little Italy. We found open spaces no problem, and minus meters — the evening was off to a great start! Next up was a quick meal at Nonna (killer pepperoni pizza!) and then a four- or five-block walk to the Music Box. It may not be right in the heart of Little Italy, but combo-ing a Little Italy dinner with a Music Box gig is a no-brainer…especially since you can burn off some of those calories on the walk to the venue.
The show was fully sold out. The lower-level floor was full and overflowing into the bar/merch area near the entrance, so we headed upstairs to try our luck at getting a better view from one of the balconies. Unfortunately, the second level was roped off for VIP access, and the third level was completely crammed as well. So we headed back downstairs to watch the show from the far, far back of the floor. In this area, at least, we were near other attendees closer to our age (40-50-ish) but once the show ended the mass of 20- and 30-somethings heading to the doors reminded us that this wasn’t an Eagles gig.
Even from our less than stellar location, the band turned out to be a pleasant surprise live. They’re a standard issue guitar, bass, drums and vocals outfit, but their secret sauce is creating extremely danceable music. Duran Duran pulled the same sort of trick in the '80s. The band’s lead singer, Dawson Daugherty, strutted around the stage with some slick moves that seemed to be drawn from Mick Jagger’s playbook. Funny enough, last June I caught fellow locals Pleasure Pill here, and lead singer Jonah Paz got jiggy with Jaggerism, too. Perhaps the man created a universal language of lead singer stage movements.
My show MVP for the night (besides Chris dancing in lobby in his Nike Dunks) was drummer Rafa Vidal — a true monster behind the kit, and a reliable human metronome for those dance rhythms that kept the audience grooving in time. One of the funny running jokes of Almost Monday’s set was Dawson Daugherty’s repeated compliments on Vidal’s (apparently) new beard. He's definitely had time watch it grow: even though Vidal has played with the band since 2019, he still has yet to gain official band member status. Seven years seems like enough time spent in the pledge/apprentice department to land the full-time gig IMHO, but band dynamics, songwriting and the twisted web of group finances likely make this a more complex issue than it was in the pre-streaming years when band revenue was a bit easier to come by.
The show had the feeling of a triumphant homecoming for the locals, and they now appear to be hovering in a gray area somewhere between almost famous and definitely famous. They apparently have a new album on the way, so if you see them selling out amphitheaters and arenas by 2027, you will know they have reached the latter.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Gonzo Report: Almost Monday at The Music Box
Sold-out show marks them as almost famous
Gonzo Report: Almost Monday at The Music Box
Sold-out show marks them as almost famous
My first concert of the new year invovled catching San Diego’s very own Almost Monday performing a sold-out show in their hometown on a pleasant, mid-January night. The venue was the multi-level Music Box — a three-tier oddity in the world of concert venues, but a fun destination nonetheless.
I ended up at the show thanks to my brother-in-law, Chris, who became an Almost Monday fan after hearing them on his go-to Pandora playlist: Hipster BBQ. “This is how I primarily find the music I like,” he told me. “Pandora plays it and then I find them on Spotify and run through the albums. That’s what got me on Kenny Wayne Shepherd most recently.” Chris had talked up the band over the holidays when we were visiting him in San Francisco and treated us to a selection of their songs while driving us through the downpour brought on by an atmospheric river. The band seemed cool and we survived the drive, so my wife and I decided to join him for this gig, which he had managed to wrangle into the back end of a work trip.
For anyone who's curious, January seems to be a prime month to secure street parking spots in Little Italy. We found open spaces no problem, and minus meters — the evening was off to a great start! Next up was a quick meal at Nonna (killer pepperoni pizza!) and then a four- or five-block walk to the Music Box. It may not be right in the heart of Little Italy, but combo-ing a Little Italy dinner with a Music Box gig is a no-brainer…especially since you can burn off some of those calories on the walk to the venue.
The show was fully sold out. The lower-level floor was full and overflowing into the bar/merch area near the entrance, so we headed upstairs to try our luck at getting a better view from one of the balconies. Unfortunately, the second level was roped off for VIP access, and the third level was completely crammed as well. So we headed back downstairs to watch the show from the far, far back of the floor. In this area, at least, we were near other attendees closer to our age (40-50-ish) but once the show ended the mass of 20- and 30-somethings heading to the doors reminded us that this wasn’t an Eagles gig.
Even from our less than stellar location, the band turned out to be a pleasant surprise live. They’re a standard issue guitar, bass, drums and vocals outfit, but their secret sauce is creating extremely danceable music. Duran Duran pulled the same sort of trick in the '80s. The band’s lead singer, Dawson Daugherty, strutted around the stage with some slick moves that seemed to be drawn from Mick Jagger’s playbook. Funny enough, last June I caught fellow locals Pleasure Pill here, and lead singer Jonah Paz got jiggy with Jaggerism, too. Perhaps the man created a universal language of lead singer stage movements.
My show MVP for the night (besides Chris dancing in lobby in his Nike Dunks) was drummer Rafa Vidal — a true monster behind the kit, and a reliable human metronome for those dance rhythms that kept the audience grooving in time. One of the funny running jokes of Almost Monday’s set was Dawson Daugherty’s repeated compliments on Vidal’s (apparently) new beard. He's definitely had time watch it grow: even though Vidal has played with the band since 2019, he still has yet to gain official band member status. Seven years seems like enough time spent in the pledge/apprentice department to land the full-time gig IMHO, but band dynamics, songwriting and the twisted web of group finances likely make this a more complex issue than it was in the pre-streaming years when band revenue was a bit easier to come by.
The show had the feeling of a triumphant homecoming for the locals, and they now appear to be hovering in a gray area somewhere between almost famous and definitely famous. They apparently have a new album on the way, so if you see them selling out amphitheaters and arenas by 2027, you will know they have reached the latter.
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