Faded Natives Live From San Diego Springfest 2010

For the second time in as many years Allied Garden’s own Faded Natives rocked SpringFest San Diego. This year it was different. This year they opened for Mobility on the Windmill Farms main stage.

They played their part and got the crowd pumped up and brought a couple sets full of our favorite rock and roll. The “new guy” fits right in, doesn’t he? On one of their breaks I ran up there and met him and got the skinny from the “friendly” one and a thumbs up from the “quiet” one. I managed to convince one to take off his shoes but you’ll have to watch the video to see which one becomes the barefoot one. Brock Scott played rock-solid drums, Len McFadden nailed it as the new bass player, and George Reeves shredded the guitar riffs. The power trio was a great choice for a party in the park.

Click through for the video!

Opening band is not always an easy job. The crowd is still getting settled, the sun is in your eyes, the sound guy is dialing things in, the TV crew considers you “B roll” and you have to pump up the crowd and get them excited to see the headliner. A park gig is always a challenge. The people are far away. Here,  a bunch were in the beer garden and they had a ball. The rest of the people were on blankets and lawn chairs, playin’ with their kids, going on rides and eating Windmill Farms food.

Slowly but surely, Faded Natives started to turn heads as, one after the other, they kept playing somebody’s favorite rock and roll song. By the time they were done, the crowd was listening, the sound had been dialed in by the 3rd song, the sun was just right and it was time for Mobility.

To open such a tough park gig, and do it as well as Faded Natives did – on their anniversary, no less – is a sweet start to this new version of an old Allied Gardens favorite band. Welcome back, guys! We approve of the new guy, the new sound and we’re looking forward to more!

http://myspace.com/fadednatives