The Rock Hop is over and it was amazing. It’s seriously been other three months building up to this and I have to say I couldn’t be more thrilled with how it went. I was slightly nervous that no one would embrace the 50s theme but my fears were lifted immediately as person after person entered the Rock Hop clad in poodle skirts, leather jackets, sweater vests and enough hair grease to fill the Grand Canyon.

Opening up the night was … us! We played a set that included ‘Wonderful World’ by Sam Cooke, a snippit of ‘Johnny B. Goode’ by the infamous Chuck Berry and a brand new song tentatively titled ‘I Am Just A Loaded Gun’. It was our first ever show playing without a female vocalist and I was a little nervous about that but Kyle and Chris stepped up their game and filled out the vocal sound admirably. The four-piece all-male PDNF will be the PDNF you see in the foreseeable future. It’s working well although I will say that the practice space has never smelled quite as ripe as it does now.

Fierce Creatures - Photo courtesy of Skeleton Key Photography

Second up we had the incredible Fierce Creatures from Fresno, CA. Nik picked them as our first ‘out-of-town’ act and I have to admit I was impressed. They’re like a younger hipper Arcade Fire – the whole affair was a giant on-stage party with people yelling and screaming in unison and tons of ‘Whoa-ohs!’. I did a CD swap with them and they are more than worth checking out. It would be easy for a band to come to this first Rock Hop and feel out of place what with the other three bands being so close but this was just not the case as Fierce Creatures are the nicest folks you’ll ever meet. Boom.

Ghost and the City - Photo courtesy of Skeleton Key Photography

Ghost and the City was the obvious choice to play main support for this show – the band is already a time-warp back to the 50s in and of itself. Red bow-ties, a horn section and Ash’s deep growl of a man voice set this group apart from anything else around. Plus, they feature our good friend and producer Aaron Hellam on guitar! You can’t go wrong.

Picture Atlantic - Photo courtesy of Skeleton Key Photography

Of course, closing the show was our good friends Picture Atlantic. I don’t know what I can say that I haven’t said before. I just love these guys. I’m not sure what I was more excited about to be honest – our show with them or my chance to talk about our Dungeons and Dragons session that’s coming up this Monday.

Aside from the bands Aaron Blumenshine was in attendance, showing off his art and bringing the full force of his ‘Blumenbooth’. The ‘Blumenbooth’ is essentially your standard wedding-style photobooth on steroids. Take all your standard cheesy props and then add fancy lights and an award winning photographer and you’ll begin to have some understanding of what I mean. You can check out a ton of said photos – all were uploaded to The Rock Hop Facebook Page – and they are amazing. Everyone looks GREAT. Please show your support by ‘Liking’ us and telling all your friends!

The vibe of The Rock Hop was probably one of the best I’ve ever come across. It was so refreshing to play with a line up of bands who truly supported each other and for good reason – every act brought an air of quality and professionalism to the event that you seldom see at local shows. Having played one too many shows where the other bands on the bill won’t even make eye contact with you it was nice to see everyone watching each others set and helping load gear on and off stage. It felt like more than just another local show – it felt like an event. It felt like the beginning of something really really good.

The next Rock Hop is October 29th at Art Boutiki in San Jose, CA with Bell Thieves, Pantheon, Early States and Dog Catcher. It will be a Halloween themed show and there will be a Raffle where the grand prize will be FREE time at Current Tattoo! Raffle tickets will be $2 or free with costume and all the money will go to support the artists. That’s pretty bitchin’ if you ask me. So while us and Picture Atlantic will not be playing we hope to see your smiling faces there anyways. We will be working hard behind the scenes to make it happen and will be in full attendance.

Moving forward our goal is to ensure the highest standards of quality – both in the acts we book and also in the event itself. You will see announcements for a Holiday Rock Hop soon as well as a 2012 series and maybe even a Rock Hop San Francisco. We’ll post about it here from time to time but to be safe make sure you follow The Rock Hop on Facebook!

We can’t wait to see you there and hope you will come and continue to support this new local concert series! Please feel free to let us know, either here or on Facebook, if you think there’s anything we can do to make it better.

-Zen