The Tiger Flowers Experience

it is instinctively difficult to be yourself while it is incredibly easy to blend in. it takes effort to be your weird little self, to drag out that natural bizarreness from within you out. tiger flowers make it seem effortless.

from my pictures you may think they are trying too hard. from videos you may think they are just another hardcore band who can tell good dirty jokes. but time and time again i’ve seen how truly ugly their passionate performances can be. i’ve seen plenty of good bands. bands that have had nothing wrong with them (solid riff work and obviously playing with all their might). and yet, they were extremely mediocre. good bands can write good music, play it well and still the delivery is missing something. they don’t have the power to shake up an entire room.

when i watch a show i want to be knocked on my ass (emotionally, no thank you to elbows). tiger flowers has that ability. there’s a certain kind of energy that develops when a person plays with people that he/she loves and truly connects with. you can’t ask for it, try to manufacture it or recreate it on cue. it’s an energy that spiritually transforms an entire room. it’s an energy that will sometimes make you feel proud, sad and vulnerable at the same time.

on monday night, jesse was in a lot of pain. just a couple days before he broke his ankle in three different places. so he drank. a lot. but they were drinks of invincibility that expired 2 minutes before their set ended. still, it was a genuine performance and i’m forever grateful i witnessed it.

i really did learn a lot from that show. no matter what your crutches are, you can out-show them. you can play an intense set of hardcore on one foot and still be the best performer in new york. i also learned (and this is less important) you can be one of 3 photographers in a room of less than 100 (probably less than 50) people and still have very different pictures.

i just wrote more than i have in a really long time. all i have left to say is congratulations jesse on being an uncle. and congratulations to team tiger flowers on headlining coachella.

01/09/2012

Enabler

Tiger Flowers