Bottom of the Hill
San Francisco, CA
25 September 2008

When it comes down to it, we’re all good people, of pure mind and soul with only the best of intentions. We love our families, friends, country, etc. We revel in the beauty of the human spirit.

And we all get to shows on time to see the openers.

I really do believe in this last one (I’ve “discovered” so many amazing bands this way), but try as I might, there all too often seems to be a dinner that runs late, or some unexpected bridge traffic that stands in the way of me and my ears meeting that really promising-sounding opener.

Thankfully, no such obstacle presented itself this night, when said ears were treated to a fantastic set by A Weather. Perhaps not my favorite band name in the world, but I quickly stopped mocking the name and started loving the music they were creating.

The focus for me fell immediately to the fragile, hushed harmonies floating out from Aaron Gerber and Sarah Winchester. The fact that he was on guitar while she played drums somehow made it all the better.

And then there were the crescendos. Having come to see The New Year (my favorite band of all time) play that night, I felt like I was set up from the beginning to like A Weather’s slow-building, subtle waves of guitar (and certainly, it’s no coincidence that the bands toured together, given the “Bedhead” reference on A Weather’s “Spiders, Snakes”).

This is a band whose music should be listened to over and over again, live and on recordings. If for no other reason than they have proved, once again, that one should never miss an opener.