I got a little behind on my blogging due to my life being owned by work and grad school for a bit. Even with all the work, I was able to work on some pretty cool stuff and go to some great shows! On Friday, November 30th, I went to The Yes Team’s CD release show at the Ruby Room! I’ve been following The Yes Team ever since me and some friends spotted them playing at The Union in Encinitas. They have three main members, who are all very talented singers, and they put together some very cool folksy songs with plenty of harmonies.
First, a little about the albums.
“Life is Good” is the main studio release. It has 7 songs, some having more of a live sound and some more produced. It starts out with the upbeat “Bottom Line.” This song has a strong melody, and smooth harmonies woven in with the lead vocals. The groove of “Sunny Side” gets my head rocking, and I love singing along with this one. The lyrics are just great, I like the line “There are two sides to every street, and if you keep right, you’ll be going left eventually.” My two favorite tracks are “Life is Good” and “We Are.” “Life is Good” really threw me off the first time I listened to it. I definitely expected it to be more upbeat like the earlier tracks, but it has a very powerful sound full of swells of sound and harmonies. This song was stuck in my head for at least a week. “We Are” is an awesome closing track. The first time I listened to it, I thought it was kinda goofy, and the talking part was a little ridiculous. I really started appreciating it when I started thinking about which songs I was looking forward to the most at the show and realized this was one of them. Also, it sounds like they recorded this song live without overdubs, and you can feel the energy in the organic feel of it. I think this song is a great representation of what The Yes Team is. The second release, “The Harvest Sessions” is a collection of many live recordings and some freestyle stuff from a living room show they did. I really enjoyed listening to this, as it had acoustic versions of the album songs. I think hearing The Yes Team live is the best way to experience them, which leads to the next part.
Now to the show!
The venue, The Ruby Room, was a really cool place in North Park that I’d never been to before. Mary and I got there early to check it out, and The Yes Team was doing a soundcheck before everything got started. Being the obnoxious fans that we are, we went up and talked to them for a little after they got everything set up. They knew our names because we ordered one of the packages online which included a signed copy of the CD, “Life is Good,” their EP, “The Harvest Sessions,” and a pair of awesome Yes Team sunglasses! We talked a little about their CD and how we saw them at The Union, and they complimented me on my glasses (so now its official that the glasses are cool). They had an unbelievable amount of positive energy during the show, and played very moving renditions of some of my favorite Yes Team tracks, including the “Life is Good” “We Are” one-two punch. For this show, they had a lead guitarist, drummer, and keyboard player join them on stage for many songs, and with so much going on, they were surprisingly cohesive. Overall it was a great show and I can’t wait to see them again!
Eric