The Upstate Life

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

~~Daft Punk~~ Thievery Corporation is Playing at My House

So while we were dead-set on going to the Maryland/NC State game Saturday afternoon, The Upstate Life was hired last minute to help bartend some dude's surprise birthday party out in Northern Virginia that very same evening. Yes, we used to bartend back in the day, notably at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland during our undergrad years. Yes, they had a fully-stocked bar, and yes, it was the best on-campus job, ever. Anyway, we learned that the guy's favorite band was DC's own Thievery Corporation. Unfortunately, he has never seen them live. So what does the wife do for her husband's 40th birthday? She fucking books them. At their house. In Virginia. I mean, these are the same guys that are playing a benefit show at the Black Cat next weekend that sold out in less than a minute. If there was ever a moment we encountered full-blown surrealism, it was Saturday night. I've honestly never seen anything like what I encountered last weekend in probably my entire life. I mean, while I was helping setup the bar and blow up balloons, Thievery fucking Corporation were doing a full sound-check right in front of me in a person's living room. I cannot make this shit up.

This was apparently the first (and possibly only) time Thievery Corp has ever performed at a private party. I mean if I'm paying five figures for them, I'd expect them to put one hell of a show, too. Rob Garza and Eric Hilton performed two one-hour long sets that included several vocalists, guitar (and sitar) players, horns, percussionists, an extensive sound system, and an elaborate light setup. Unfortunately, we were stuck in the other room the majority of the time, so we were only able to hear the muffled sounds of the group's trademark trip-hop beats while tending bar. Luckily, we were able to catch the group performing "Warning Shots" during our 10-minute break while at the same time still aghast at the fact that we were dancing in someone's living room to Thievery Corp. performing live under the very same roof. I took pics just in case you guys still wouldn't believe me. Trust me; I wouldn't believe it either if you told me the same exact story.

Sound Check: