A shower did them some good

Last time Kway and I saw Augustana in 2006, Dan the lead singer commented "you don't want to know the last time i showered"...and it was true. It looked like it had been weeks the way his long greasy hair was in his face and he was wearing just a gray Hanes tshirt. But who cared...we were drinking and were more mesmerized by the Navaho bass player and his lady-like features.

I took Kway back to see Augustana for her 2th birthday gift, this time they were playing at Antones. Appears the band has grown up a bit, taken a shower and actually gotten into a fashion a bit! My first reaction to Dan's new look though was "wow, he looks strikingly similar to Jakob Dylan's EP album cover". Bugged me the whole show...hard to see it from my camera phone pic, but even Kway was faked out...

Dan at some other show:

Jakob
(but this was practically the outfit Dan wore too!)

We also noticed the audience has grown up a bit too. Fewer X'd hands surrounded us this time...but there were still a couple of entertaining underage busts during the opening acts. Thinking of opening acts, I was pretty impressed by them as well. Usually one of the two acts sucks pretty hard, but both of these were pretty decent. I think I preferred Paddy Casey from Ireland better (shocker), but Sweet Orange whatever was good too...sound was just a bit generic. Funny thing though was the lead singer's face looked like Seth Rogan from Knocked Up but his hair and suit made him a cross between Seth and Kramer from Seinfeld.

We still had a fun time again mocking the Navaho tossing his silky hair and sporting such feminine facial features, all whilst rockin' that bass like only a man knows how. The quote of the night from Kway "The Navaho has really mastered the hair toss...but you know when he's up there, he's just takin' care of business."

Oh and how could i forget the spas-tastic pregnant girl next to us. I really did think she was "special" for a minute there. She started to totally freak out during a not-so-popular, so-so song from the first album and was bouncing and singing along...Kway and I were trying to hold it together but doing a terrible job whenever we'd make eye contact! The girl then leaned over to me and goes "do you not know this song? Don't you just love this band?!" I was almost crying from laughter so I could only get out "yeah i know this song". She entertained us for quite a while.

But I really do enjoy this band, they've been my Top 40 guilty pleasure for almost 2 years now. Since the last show I really got obsessed with "Cigarettes and Coffee" but from the new album "Sweet and Low" was definitely the hit. But we left on a high note when they covered Bob Dylan's "Baby Please Dont Go". So put your pride aside and check them out.

This night solidified the commitment for Kway and me to keep the Augustana tradition alive as long as they are still touring.