There was an opening act, a charismatic, howling young Colombian lass named Isa. She played a good set of latin-influenced rock - her sound was plaintive and angry all at once. She's also as pretty as paint. That doesn't hurt.
But finally, Manic Automatic took the stage. The club was about half-full when Isa went on, but it was packed to the rafters for MA. They started out strong with a sonic assault that carpet-bombed the club from front to back. The band has tremendous presence - the individual members are all stellar performers. But this is
More than anything I was happy to see
So when he broke out into "Fortune and Fame" and sings:
All these doubts keep me wondering
If I have enough courage to choose
Got no more fear of what the future brings
I’m much stronger having lived through the pain
Now I’m willing to risk everything
For one last chance at fortune and fame
I was really happy for my friend. It's right there in the song - whatever was slowing him down or holding him back just didn't matter anymore. It's the first time I've seen him happy in an uncomplicated, pure, unadulerated way. I've seen him in shows, performed with him in one, seen his other band in concert - but what he brought to stage in those cases were starlight vs. a supernova compared to this. I'm glad because I got to see a killer band do a really polished, professional set. I'm even more happy to see a friend who's really struggled, find his wings and take flight.