MAKE and Sinister Moustache at Dive Bar

Last night I ended my extended unintentional social life hiatus by checking out MAKE and Sinister Moustache at Dive Bar. It was also my first chance to record something with my new Flip Cam. Overall, the photo quality is about the same, and the sound quality is actually worse than recording with the G9. Plus, I swear I recorded the whole song. Not sure why I only got a couple of minutes on the cam. I imported the video through iMovie, rather than the clunky Flip Share software. I'm going to experiment with that and see if there's something I can do to improve the sound quality.


MAKE at Dive Bar from Mann's World on Vimeo.

Anyway, last night was MAKE's last show with guitarist Daniel McDonald. Guitarist/singer Scott Endres told me that the band has decided to continue on as a trio, and they're getting ready to write all new songs. Last night they sounded fantastic, and they had a large appreciative crowd.

I'd also like to say that Dive Bar is quickly becoming my favorite place to see a band in Raleigh, because they are booking some interesting shows, the bands sound great, and the lighting is good enough for me to usually get some good photos. Plus, their shows are free AND if you park downtown you can take the R-Line to the club, which is a total plus because parking on Glenwood South really does suck.

Sinister Moustache from Savannah opened the show. I have to say I was on the fence about them. They were very proggy, and were very good at it. I heard a lot of King Crimson and a good bit of Pink Floyd in what they were doing. They were mostly instrumental, which was a shame because I thought the few vocals they had (especially the interplay when three of them were singing together) were the best things about their music. But evidently I was alone in my assessment because everyone else seemed to be completely into what they were doing.  See more photos from the show. 

After the show, I made it down to the Mecca for the first time since they've begun opening for drinks at night. It is absolutely my new favorite downtown hangout. It wasn't crowded at all, they were playing good music, and they serve late night food. As much as I love the Landmark, we all know that place turns into jackass city after 11 p.m. on the weekends. The Landmark's patio will still likely be my favorite warm weather Sunday afternoon spot, but for Thursday - Saturday late nights, I will probably spend my time at the Mecca.