This ticket was bought before I knew I wouldn’t want to leave the house. But the chance to see Mates of State in such an intimate venue was too difficult to resist. This time it was rtb, violaleeblue and her boyfriend out for the evening.

Opening act Dreamshow has an 80s type of sound. Their lead singer looks like Howard Wolowitz and he was jumping around on that small stage and fell during their second song. While most people in the audience were asking him if he was all right, I was cracking up.

During the intermission there was a very funny moment when a woman asked to borrow rtb’s phone to call her boyfriend. She couldn’t find him in the crowd because there were too many tall white guys with beards. When we finally saw him, rtb and I both laughed because he was another tall white guy with a beard.

Mates of States’ husband and wife Jason Hammel and Kori Gardner get such a great sound out of their drums and synthesizers/keyboards and their harmonies that you don’t need anything else. I’m not as familiar with their work as the audience was so I couldn’t sing along but all the songs are catchy and fun and it’s a great way to spend an evening.

By Carene Lydia Lopez