Moonalice and Cubensis At The Galaxy Theater

What a start to a three day So. Cal run with Moonalice and Cubensis last night at the Galaxy Theater in Santa Ana, CA.  It’s on the Top 10 So Cal Jamband Venues list for a reason…it’s a great place to see a show.  Especially last night’s show.

What do you get when you mix the best Grateful Dead tribute on the planet with a collection of legendary rockstars…magic.  Opening the night was local Southern California jamband, Heavy Water.  On the rise, they certainly held their own sharing the bill with some power players.  Moonalice took the middle slot and played for nearly 2 hours before conceding the stage to Cubensis who rocked out till past 1 am.

Highlights from the Cubensis set included a powerful “Tons of Steel” from Tom Ryan’s “Mydland-esque” vocals, a show closing “Sugar Magnolia/Sunshine Daydream” and an iconic “U.S. Blues” encore as the hour slipped into 9/11.  I asked Craig Marshall after the show if there was a significance to the U.S. Blues encore and his response was, “Steve (Harris) said I owed him one from Sunday.”  Whatever the reason, it was a fitting closer to the show that ended on 9/11.

Moonalice was, as always, fantastic.  The high point for me was the “White Rabbit” that came early in the  show.   Played by such talented musicians including Pete Sears who actually played the song with Jefferson Starship, was a real treat.  Beyond the music, however, Moonalice brings something more to the show.  Every concert is streamed live on Livestream which, according to Moonalice’s Roger McNamee, has created a great community around the band giving fans who travel following the band, an opportunity to have “couches to crash on” wherever they play.

“We tell all our fans they can travel with the band.  Not literally on the bus but we let everyone know where we’re staying and let them know good places to eat, places to check out.  It’s building a community around the band,” said McNamee.  “We got rid of managers and booking agents and in one month bought the HD cameras to stream live with the money we would have spent on those guys.  Now, no matter where you are, you can watch the show.”

As they say, According to Moonalice legend, those guys ROCK!

Tonight Cubensis and Moonalice take the circus to Winston’s in Ocean Beach, CA.  Tix are $15.  Sunday, 9/12, they’ll be at the Waterfront in Marina Del Rey.  Tix $15.

Check out more photos of the show including some really cool Solarized stage shots on my Facebook.