I posted on Gainesvillebands.com:

This is Hana’s first show and you should be there. They’re writing the most beautiful mellow songs you’ve never heard…songs that you’ll come to treasure and nestle in your mixCDs and playlists around Low and MBV and the Clientele for years to come, but you get to enjoy them NOW out in the loveliest weather Gainesville has seen for months.

I just got back from it and was not disappointed. This was one of my favorite shows of the year. I’d never been to Tim & Terry’s for a show; I didn’t even know they had the back patio area where bands play, so it was a really nice surprise to walk back there and find Hana setting up in the corner. After some PA setup they started and everything sounded pristine and at a perfect volume. Two clean, reverb-drenched guitars and a solid, tasteful rhythm section.

And the songs… Around every corner of a Hana song is something unexpected: Classic pop progressions twisted around; vocal melodies that refreshingly do a little more or less than you’d expect; subtle key changes (the kind the Kinks did so well); arpeggiated guitars that recall the Clientele or a more mellow Pinback; lyrics that sketch the everyday (like having your apartment broken into) and ring with simple truths and quiet realizations. “Tragically, you might be one of the few left out.”

This was the kind of experience—a great band’s first show—that makes me feel guilty for not forcing my friends to attend.

As Paul might say, “fool, I’ll tell you what’s hot.”

The French Horns live

Last night was our first show with violinist Jesse Long and I proclaim it to be one of our best. He played on five or six songs and added those melodies we missed so much as a trio. Besides that, I think what really made a difference were the couple of practices the days right before the show, the good vocal monitor setup, and a decent pedal setup that gives me a little more control over my guitar sound. The only trouble I had on stage was that, in “Amy L”, my guitar was turned up too high and I was getting tons of guitar feedback to the point of distracting me into forgetting the whole second verse (I was frantically trying to figure out which note was feeding back and how to play the chord in a different shape to leave that note out). Well, to me it was ultra-loud, but apparently the audience didn’t notice much (which is why I think it was coming from the vocal monitor, but whatever.) Anyway, we were pretty well received from the few people there (unexpectedly we were asked to play first so several people who came to see us (from as far as Orlando) missed the set, but it’s not a big deal. The point of the show was kinda to build up our confidence for the Athens popfest show on the 12th. We won’t have Jesse there (which really sucks because he’s apparently “the cute one”) but we’ll get by I guess.