{The following post is courtesy of our new friend and California correspondent, Imaginary Michelle. Take it away, girl!}

 

 

For my summer vacation, I didn't take a cruise or hit the beach. I didn't go camping or visit a national park. I didn't even go to the movies or visit a single amusement park. Nope, I decided to follow Shearwater on their west coast tour instead. They are my favorite band, after all, and I am nothing if not immoderate in my devotion to music in general (and this band in particular).

 

I had seen Shearwater play tons of shows before, some with the current line-up, many more with the former, but these were easily the best. The line-up that singer Jonathan Meiburg has brought together this year is definitely more rock than previous evolutions of the band, and they are, in a word, phenomenal. Drummer Danny Reisch, bassist Christiaan Mader, and multi-instrumentalists Mitch Billeaud and Lucas Oswald laid down such a storm of sound every night that I would've sworn I could feel it at a cellular level, maybe even a molecular one. But always at the fore was Meiburg's inexorable voice, at turns surging through and soaring above it all. Even though the setlist didn't vary much (each night Meiburg played a different song solo at the beginning of the encore), I never got tired of hearing any of the songs. Everything from Animal Joy, a handful of older tunes, and one absolutely brilliant REM cover killed me every single time. As much as I loved the etherealness of earlier Shearwater records and shows, I am utterly enamored with this more visceral incarnation. It's the difference between sitting on the shore watching the tide come in and running out into the water to feel the waves crash against your chest. In January. 

 

And as if Shearwater weren't enough on their own, Husky and Grant Olsen (of Gold Leaves) opened almost every show and destroyed me a little bit more each night. Both Gold Leaves' The Ornament and Husky's Forever So ended up on my iPod before the week was out.

 

The whirlwind took me from the tour's second night in San Diego, where I braved the ComiCon crowds to catch the band at a dive-y place called the Soda Bar; to a night at the Echo — probably the best show I've ever seen them play in Los Angeles — to the show at Bottom of the Hill a couple of nights later (which can only be described as downright magical), where I found myself thinking, "This is it, THIS is how it's supposed to be. It's all happening!" I have never been so exultant after show, so euphoric, so in need of whiskey.

 

San Diego:

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles:

 

{Husky opening the Los Angeles show.}

 

 

 

 

 

San Francisco:

 

{Gold Leaves opening the San Francisco show.}

 

 

 

 

Once in the great Northwest, Shearwater played at Mississippi Studios, which is now on my list of favorite places. The room certainly sounded the best of all the venues, with good food and reasonably priced alcohol as a big bonus. Seattle continued the meteoric streak of awesome shows, even though I had worries that Capitol Hill Block Party might hurt attendance, but such was not the case. The crowd was enthusiastic and filled up the room, once again Shearwater's performance was nothing short of stunning. And finally in Vancouver, where the show at the Media Club wasn't just the last show of the west coast tour, it was the conclusion of six months of nearly non-stop touring for the band. Somehow though, the guys rallied and played one last incredible set.

 

Portland:

 

{Husky opening the Portland show.}

 

{Gold Leaves opening the Portland show.}

 

 

 

 

 

Seattle: