The Dollyrots made a last minute pitstop in Tempe, Arizona, last Saturday to play the Punkheads show at the adjoining venues Club Red and the Red Owl Grill. I was excited to come out and shoot them, as I know the Club Red stage has the best lighting of any small bar I've seen, and a great sound system (I shall resist the urge to gratuitously use the term "awesome" when discussing The Dollyrots.)
I was quite surprised to find out the venue/promoter was putting The Dollyrots at the Red Owl "stage" -- a small platform in the back they normally have tables on. I expressed my dismay, thinking maybe they didn't realize they had a fairly prominent national act, but they insisted The Dollyrots were headlining and that there was great lighting on that stage as well.
They were quite incorrect. So much for getting really fabulous live photos.
More importantly, that back stage wasn't nearly as visible for the band as the main stage. The deck was further stacked against them in that the promoters had both stages running, overlapping a 12 band lineup.
That is way too many bands. And worst of all, they had The Dollyrots overlapping local old school punk icons The Glass Heroes.
Oy vey.
Having said all that, Kelly, Luis and Chris made the best of a small crowd, many of which obviously hadn't heard of them, with one person even shouting out, asking them if they were from Arizona. I was sorta embarrassed at that, even though I realize this was mostly an older, rougher crowd out to see the locals. And I'm sure the crowd's confidence wasn't inspired when they heard Kelly's high-pitched, girly speaking voice. But the band won them over with their infectious power punk, rounding out their set with their trademark "Because I'm Awesome." Like most bands, The Dollyrots benefit from the edge that playing live adds to the songs, to swing a little more to the punk side, and even win over a few old school punks.
The benefit of small shows is just being able to kick back and have a good time with it, and Kelly graciously did several "myspace" shots with a fan as she played, then sat down and spent time with the few gathered to see them afterward.
They were also gracious to me, and we did a photo shoot when they arrived. Mind you, these were shot pretty much right when they came in off the road. I'd like to take credit, but they pretty much directed themselves on this one.
Despite the small crowd, The Dollyrots (and the crowd) had a good time and rocked the place. They were -- dare I say it?
Awesome.
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