Photo essay: Flobots @ Twist and Shout
By John Moore | March 17th, 2010 | 2 commentsText from Twist and Shout owner Paul Epstein:
We finally got our Flobots in-store. It was everything we had hoped it would be. We have a long, long history with this band and especially guitar player and organizational ringmaster Andy Guerrero (A:Rok). For many years now I have watched Andy, and subsequently the rest of this talented band, go from wide-eyed kids to wide-eyed rock-stars.
In other words, the music and presentation have gotten bigger and better and more professional, but beneath it the heart beats louder and stronger than ever.
View a full photo gallery of the Flobots’ in-store set here.
We had at least 300 people who put the fan back in fanatic. It was incredibly refreshing to see an audience completely un-jaded by the corrupt and floundering “music-business” who were there because they love their band. These fans believe the words written and sung by the twin rappers fronting the band, Brer Rabbit and Johnny 5, who continue to focus on the righteous, the correct, the loving path, mixing politics and morality and handing it to an audience that laps it up.
The band played five songs, including a couple from their first album “Fight With Tools” (which all told we have sold close to 3,000 of-including when it was a self-released local phenomenon), but the star of the night was the great new album “Survival Story” (Read Ricardo Baca’s review).
We had a large presale of 125 copies and by the time the in-store was over we were closing in on 250 copies for the first day of sales … not bad. An abnormally large percentage of the crowd stayed to get their albums and posters signed and patiently waited until almost 9 p.m. Again, I was impressed with the way the band interacted with their audience.
There was no “fame” nonsense, just a sincere exchange between admiring fans and grateful band members. So many times I heard them asking the fans what they were studying in school, what bands they liked, inside jokes about TV shows – just really nice human stuff.
On a very personal level, I am extremely proud of this Denver band and the exhilarating path they have taken. They are people I care about and wish the greatest success going forward.
View a full photo gallery of the Flobots’ in-store set here.
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