Sun Settings - June Fourth at the Sodhouse

LABELMAKER played this day too, employing (among other things) a full-sized marimba, Kaossilator, conga, melodica, human beatbox, singing by a ranking gospel vocalist, and more... 

Fun fact, a squirrel fell out of a tree and died during the performance. 

One of my favorite things about the music of Sun Settings is that I can dance to it with anyone. I have a fond memory of running into an old friend at an SS show. Right off the bat, I grabbed her hand and had her dance with me. For the duration of a song (I'll humor you- "When I'm With You"), it didn't matter that she was completely bonkers or that all of my friends hated me; there was the music, there was her & me, and there was my Taco Bell cup of whiskey & Coke.

I thought I was friends with celebrities. I was so happy, but so, so stupid.

Sun Settings is playing their farewell tonight at the House of Loom, and what a grand farewell it is- they're playing for free!

There was a time when SS ruled the streets, but the only streets that still listen are the ones they live on. SS has been taking it easy for a good two years, like cheeky trust fund brats coasting through Swedish boarding school. They haven't produced anything beautiful in a while, and they gave up on stardom the moment they gave Cat Carne the boot.

To say goodbye as politely as possible, let's recall the highlights of SS' history: in our basements, our garages, and our pathetic, punchdrunk hearts.

Highlight #1: I once drove to a weird part of town and walked through a chainlink fence into a teenage Disneyland: bounce castle, unchaperoned keg, and shirtless SS rocking their socks off in a garage. Then, an eccentric gentlemen sauntered onto the scene and began hustling & heckling all of us until the big loud bubblegum pop of Sun Settings reached his ears and introduced him to his Savior. He burst to the front of the crowd & waved his hand to the beat, eyes closed, in ecstasy. He enjoyed the show more than the rest of us combined.

We were too busy taking pictures of the bum, of course.

Highlight #2: Does anybody still have one of those cool SS T-shirts with the babe on front?

I didn't think so. They were shit.

Highlight #3: We may have had somebody's mother hollering at us for smoking in her backyard, but I like the Dundee porch concerts in the fall of 2010. The best part was, whenever SS started playing, the cops showed up. "Two more songs," they begged as the pigs hopped over the neighbor's fence.

No matter how many acts had echoed through the hipster hood that night, the cops never failed to bust "Japanese Gum." It's as if the surrounding tenants finally decided to put their feet down & dial three numbers for the sake of humanity.

    "9-1-1. What's your emergency?"

    "It's those narcissistic vampires again. They wrote a new song."

You gotta love Dundee neighbors.

Highlight #4: "Blood In The Water"

 If you haven't heard this song, you might actually be attracted to it after a few PBRs, ya hipster. The simple chord progression combined with cool cat guitar pedals and emotional drumming form a syrupy-sweet epic.

TL;DR--- This song was inspired by Rihanna's 2006 masterpiece "Unfaithful."

To pay homage to the late Sun Settings, let's all go home and fuck our buddies to "I Won't Be There." It's almost as good as fucking your wife to Jay Leno.