Happy Body Slow Brain. Photo by Clay LancasterThis past weekend I turned 30. A new decade. I’ve never really done birthday stuff (other than go out to dinner or get a few drinks), but everyone kept asking “what are you doing this year? you’re gonna be 30!”. I had no answer. That is, until my partners in Happy Body Slow Brain announced that they added a San Francisco date to end their November tour. Which, as it worked out, was on the eve of my 30-ness.

Many familiar faces showed, and a lot of new ones. It was a blast.

This band is going to be a sleeper hit. As we all know, 2 of these guys are from bigger acts, and all 4 have played with a lot of people. Hell they were just touring with RX Bandits earlier this year and had a feature in the Hot Topic exclusive version of AP Magazine. It amazes be that they haven’t blown up yet, but their crowds to seem to be steadily increasing. When you see these guys everywhere, remember: you heard it here first.

The set was strong, despite Mr. Isaac Bolivar being on the verge of death (sick). The house mix wasn’t as crisp as their last outing at Bottom of the Hill in July, but the energy was there. As always, Matt Fazzi graced us with his smooth/solid vocals, with some sweet bass-ness from Jason Holthouser, the dizzying playing style of Bolivar, and the smoothest groove-machine ever: Javier Torres on drums.

it's almost as if using my iPhone to capture a really animated band wasn't the best idea...

Highlight of the night I’d say was “Time”… not because it’s their closing song, and not because it’s arguable their hardest-rocking song, but because they keep changing up the ending. This time around, odd beat accents ran amuck and a lot of fans noticed.

Footage has not surfaced yet, but here is a live video of “Time” performed by Happy Body Slow Brain from their previous headline of the same venue back in July:

You need to catch a show by these guys. They tour the US more frequently than I go to Safeway, and they will take the time to have a drink with you. There’s no reason to not support this band.

Were you there on the 27th? Did you attend this most recent tour? What did you think?

-Clay Lancaster (www.claylancaster.com)