It looked like a real rock concert.
Geri X held a CD release party for her new Anthems of a Mended Heart (24 Hour Service Station) last night at the State Theatre and people showed up. A decent amount of them (depending on your point of view). She and three other acts — Will Quinlan and the Diviners, The Beauvilles and Have Gun, Will Travel — put on tight, committed sets that provided a an evening of strong entertainment. But the night's real issue was not how the bands would perform, but how the show would draw given a major local media blitz supporting it.
Two hundred and twenty five paid ($8). Another 50-75 in comps. Total: An attendance hovering close to 300. That's according to CL marketing director Joran Oppelt, a tireless booster of the local scene. He wasn't devastated, but he wasn't thrilled either. "It just seems impossible to get into the 300s and above," he said this morning. "With all the media, I had expected more of a turnout."
Still, he conceded, it "felt like a rock show."
This article appears in Jan 14-20, 2009.