The Brian Jonestown Massacre played at The Agora Theater in Cleveland on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Tickets were $35 each, and the Agora also charging their $20 parking tax to use the lot (luckily, we were able to get a free spot on the street, so we'll see ya). The scheduled opener, Mercury Rev - was a no show, so a few of band members from the BJM crew were in the control booth having visible fun curating a psychedelic soundtrack for the first hour or so. However, when BJM took the stage it was just what I was hoping to see. Anton doing his thing, and Joel stealing the show with his wicked sideburns and a tambourine. Almost no banter between songs, which I loved - the exception being a few comments here and there sprinkled with expletives, and accompanied by the occasional smoke break for Anton to take a couple rips on stage. Rock n' Roll AF. They played most of the classic BJM songs you'd expect to hear, and it was a good mix of both older and newer tracks. Some of them I didn't recognize, but we're really good - and I am hoping they will be on their new record that they just announced a couple weeks ago - their 19th album, "Fire Doesn't Grow On Trees" scheduled for release on June 24th of this year. Overall, it was a great experience - it's a band I've always wanted to see and they've always seemed to elude me. The last time I attempted to see them was in Los Angeles in 2018, and I was turned away in line as the show sold out. Our attempts to bribe the bouncer also failed. It was a bummer, but 4 years later I got to see them in my own hometown and had a great experience. Well worth the wait. Here's some pics from the show.
- TJ