San Diego to L.A.: Part 2

Magneta Lane 2013 Tour Poster

I have to back up just a bit and explain how the awesome bands Magneta Lane and Of Verona played into my move from San Diego to L.A.

The weekend before I was planning to go visit my friend Mike Wamser in L.A., there was a music festival in San Diego called IndieFest.  I found out about it because of a Facebook post from the band Magneta Lane.

I saw Magneta Lane for the first time at the Mercury Lounge in the East Village in New York City in 2006 or 2007.  I took my then-Victor-Bravo-bandmate Dan, his girlfriend Isabelle, and my then-girlfriend-now-ex-girlfriend Marcella to see Silversun Pickups.  They were a band from L.A. I had discovered and seen play an amazing set at the CMJ Music Marathon in NYC the year before.  Now they were playing NYC again, and I was super-psyched to see them, and introduce my friend to them.

I had never heard of Magneta Lane, and had no idea that they would be opening for Silversun Pickups.  They were a 3-woman indie/punk rock band from Toronto, and they blew the doors off the Mercury Lounge.  Silversun Pickups were also amazing that night, I should say.  I remember seeing Lexi, the singer/guitarist for Magneta Lane, loading her guitar case into the back of some car - I think it might have been a Subaru - after the show.  Isabelle went up to her and gushed at how fantastic their set had been.  Pretty sure I wanted to say something similar, and either said nothing, or said something like "Yeah, it was great!"

I promptly bought both of the CD's Magneta Lane had released up to that point, Dancing with Daggers and The Constant Lover.  I fell in love with every single track and played them incessantly.  I was so excited to see them live again.  I followed them, first on MySpace and then on Facebook and Twitter.  And they never set foot in the United States again.

I would see posts for Magneta Lane show after Magneta Lane show...in Canada.  Year after year went by.  Eventually, I just resigned myself to the fact that I was probably going to have to save up some money and take a vacation trip to Toronto someday just to see my second Magneta Lane show.

Then suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, I saw a poster for an upcoming Magneta Lane tour posted with dates and cities.  To my shock and astonishment, two cities on the list popped out: SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.  WATTTTTT????  I could not contain myself.  I was going to get to see not ONE, but TWO Magneta Lane shows in ONE WEEK?? After not seeing ANY shows for 6 or 7 YEARS??? HOLY S@#*!!!!

To be continued in Part 3!  Thanks so much for visiting my page and reading!!

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