Sound: Experiments in Sound
Future of the Left Wales-based punk band Future of the Left doesn’t seem pleased with The Ché Café. After the band played a sold-out show at the UCSD venue last Friday night, someone tweeted from the band’s Twitter account (@shit_rock): “Worst venue I have ever played AND I HAVE TO PLAY IT AGAIN TOMORROW.”
The band played on Friday and Saturday with Phoenix folk-punks Andrew Jackson Jihad. A member of Future of the Left declined to speak with CityBeat on the record, but in a follow-up tweet, the band listed a couple of serious grievances: “Electric shocks on stage ‘oh yeah, we get this here’. Kids jumping on the van(s) causing thousands of pounds of damage.”
Gregory Prout, a Ché volunteer who was in charge on Friday and Saturday, tells CityBeat in a text message that nobody in the band confronted him about any problems during the show. He didn’t respond to multiple text messages asking about the electric shocks or return calls seeking comment.
Jackson Milgaten, a local musician who played with Cuckoo Chaos at Saturday’s show, says the Ché’s microphones have shocked him before.
“When we were playing on Saturday, if you were to touch your lips to the mic, you would get a little shock, which is not necessarily uncommon at a venue like that,” Milgaten says, noting that the Ché’s a low-budget, volunteer-run space. “I’ve experienced that at some really legit venues.”
As for Future of the Left’s other tweeted grievance: At one point during the Friday show, some concertgoers climbed onto the roof of the venue. To get down, they jumped onto Andrew Jackson Jihad’s tour van, leaving a big dent.
Dan Faughnder, a Ché volunteer who played with one of the opening bands on Friday, says many in the audience weren’t happy about the antics. To help pay for the damages, he and some others went around to collect donations.
“People were giving me, like, $20 bills,” he says.
Email peterh@sdcitybeat.com or follow him on Twitter at @peterholslin.
