Surplus 1980-Starry Plough, Berkeley; 10/5/19

After a really disappointing record release show back in July, Surplus 1980 figured we'd try again, this time at the Starry Plough. It's a place where the band has played many times, when I've been the drummer and also before my tenure. It's known to Moe and his crew, which seems to provide some sense of emotional safety.
Before we even played, the evening's main treat showed itself to be the band Blank Square. What an impactful band! A really great blend of sounds, all moved by a killer rhythm section. I was blown away by them, and  hopefully we can play more shows with them.
As for Surplus 1980, we just barely got any rehearsals in, but that turned out to be alright. Our set had a pleasing intensity that was colored by maybe a bit of "wobble" as certain parts of the songs were remembered. As the only drummer for the band on the evening, I felt a bit of pressure to keep it all glued together. Thankfully, I only committed a few biffs. Everything seemed to roll well. It helped to have a good monitor mix, as always. I recall that at our last show there was no drum monitor. Anyway, Surplus played tightly, some people showed up, some people danced, and the entire affair was fun. Much better than record release number one by a mile.
It looks as though Surplus 1980 will be doing a very cool show next month, along with some neat work with an internationally renowned dance. Good things on the horizon, and hopefully we'll get a bit more rehearsal in!

Below: the only Surplus kit of the night; Moe S. has very strong opinions about Dubstep