Gomez? Yes, please!

Just got my tickets to see Gomez March 21st at El Rey Theatre. It makes me incredibly happy that they'll be back in L.A. so soon after the last time! If you're not familiar with Gomez and are reading this, you may be conjuring up images of a Mexican pop singer or maybe even a Mariachi band, though you couldn't be further from the truth. They're a British band whose name, from what I understand, came from a "misunderstanding" involving a posted sign with a reference to someone named "Gomez" at one of their early shows when they were still without an official band name. People thought that was their name and it stuck. Whether that's true or not I couldn't really say.

I first came across Gomez early in '06 just before How We Operate was released. The first album I bought was Split the Difference, which in my opinion was aptly titled. Their first few albums had more of a jam vibe and were not what I would call over produced, whereas their latest ones are a little more pop-ish, "shinier" and perhaps evidence of a bit heavier production than previous efforts. Split the Difference, to my ears, is somewhere in the middle, the transition album, if you will. Admittedly, I like their older stuff better than their last two releases. I was especially underwhelmed by their last album, A New Tide (though this too, is growing on me with every listen) and yet, I still think it's all good music. How We Operate (the song, not the album) is very much a favorite though it took a while to get there. I'm expecting this to be the case with songs from A New Tide as well. The thing to keep in mind is that it's not bad it's just different from what we've been used to.

I've only seen them twice, because as far as I know they've only been to the U.S. twice since I first started listening to them. The first time was great but I was still relatively new to their music so I didn't know very much at all. I really liked the venue though and the crowd was great. The second time was just this past year at The Wiltern and that was much better for me because I've become a much bigger fan and I've of course become more familiar with their music and with them as a band. That being said, I think the crowd was ok for an L.A. crowd, but somehow still lacking, as L.A. crowds can be, unfortunately. Anyway, for that show we actually ran into OIly (the drummer) across the street from the theater, just outside of where we'd parked before the show. It caught me so off guard- as of course I wasn't expecting to see any band members walking around outside the venue- that I couldn't bring myself to stop him and take a picture. I hope to be better prepared at the upcoming El Rey show, but somehow I doubt the opportunity will present itself again!

To end, I'll say this: any time I've had people in my car and Gomez comes on, someone always asks who's singing or says something to the effect of how good the song is. I may have converted a person or two to become fans, but I really wish more people knew about them!

Gomez 2010 Tour Dates:
03.04.10 at Vic Theatre (Chicago, IL)
03.05.10 at Majestic Theatre (Madison, WI)
03.06.10 at Fine Line Music Cafe (Minneapolis, MN)
03.08.10 at Ogden Theatre (Denver, CO)
03.09.10 at Belly Up (Aspen, CO)
03.12.10 at The Orpheum (Vancouver, BC)
03.13.10 at Crocodile Cafe (Seattle, WA)
03.14.10 at Crocodile Cafe (Seattle, WA)
03.15.10 at Wonder Ballroom (Portland, OR)
03.17.10 at Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA)
03.18.10 at Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA)
03.19.10 at Great American Music Hall (San Francisco, CA)
03.20.10 at El Rey Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)
03.21.10 at El Rey Theatre (Los Angeles, CA)

Airstream Driver:



How We Operate:



(Originally published on my previous blog Jan. 9, 2010)