Kaylie Hoffman is a baddass.  So, she started at non-profit to generally help people: be it a guy who needs a leg who’s inspiring story she’d seen on the news, or a far away group of kids without access to musical instruments.  The show at the Knitting Factory last Saturday that she organized was about raising money to get instruments in the hands of those kids; a simple act that may change their lives and those around them forever.  Over the course of the night there were raffles (with prizes like a skydiving trip, time in a tattoo studio, pieces of art, and more), Equaleyes merch give-aways, a bachelor auction (an unexpected last-minute bidder won a date with Jeff;) ), and a appearance by Marcus Eaton.  Jeremiah James and the Gang started off the night with their blend of poetry of place and old outlaw rebellion.  Then Steve Meyers was up for a quick set of anthemic solo looping with sick finger-tapping.  Polyphonic Pomegranate came on and proved further their readiness for the big stage, and that they’re serious about bringing fresh funk and jazz to our thirsty town.  It was their first time playing on such a sound system to such a crowd (over 600 through the door) and their excitement and escalation in playing was astounding.  Chris Cullinan acted as emcee all night wearing an overcoat and tophat and his acidic wit; and upon introducing Equaleyes the mounting crowd went apeshit.  The boys came out firing with "White Lines", and after a couple pulled Marcus out to jam on "Bird’s Eye View" which he expolded onto with blazing electric solos.  At one point I saw a grown man wrestle a young girl over a pair of Equaleyes panties tossed out from the stage.  We raised over $3000 all told, in addition to all the instruments that were donated.  Proceeds, ukuleles, harmonicas, percussion instruments, and more will be spread across Myanmar, Thailand, Africa, and beyond.  After closing up shop at the K.Factory we headed over to Terrapin to watch the Pomegranate close out the night.  Thank you Kaylie for having compassionate vision and the drive to change things; and thank you everyone that came to throw down with us and spread opportunity to the less fortunate.  Boise has made me proud.

Setlist: White lines, Ride This train, Redsand, bird’s eye view, sunrise

by Jesse Shell

The Big Day. With hopes in the clouds and butterflies in the belly we met at Bardenay for a drink/pre-game rally. Then it was load in and setup on the big stage without any other bands’ gear backlined! After a couple hours of sound checking, lighting design, recording prep, eye make-up layering, and merch set-up, it was time to open the doors to the fans awaiting out front. After some hilarious backstage banter with Marcus Eaton– he has a career in comedy if he ever hurts his hands– he went on to start things off. The crowd grew steadily and Marcus played masterfully: quicker than ever and just about beyond comprehension, smooth, strong vocals, and a seemingly more latin style, and that tasty-ass percussive strum-looping. Next up was emcee Captain Happy (Jesse Bastian) in full happiest-superhero-ever garb. He did one of his amazing spoken-word pieces and worked the crowd up with his trademark exuberance. By the time we went on the place was packed and everyone was high with expectation. The boys tore into a searing set, focussing on tracks from the album but playing a few newer tunes too. The crowd was incredibly reponsive: screaming inbetween songs, generally freaking out, and singing along, much of which was caught on film by our two roving cinematographers. With the killer audio recording (Thank You Jeremy Swain!) and footage we got we hope to post some sweet video sections online, or maybe eventually put together a full DVD. We sold well over a hundred albums during the show, every last pair of Equaleyes booty shorts (which our sexy female fans gladly modeled around the venue, to the dismay of security personnel), and distributed a lot of other new clothing items. Apparently some guy tried to get into the show with a prison i.d., was rejected, bit the door guy, and was taken down violently and away by several cops. However confusing a thing like violence may seem at an Equaleyes show, it reminded me of a night in Moscow when Jeff went into the first verse of one of the sweeter love songs and a fight broke out between two dudes on the floor. All in all, the most successful and touching night of our careers (especially after working on the album for 18 months) and I can’t thank everyone who was a part of that enough.

by Jesse Shell