It was an afternoon like no other. I had been going to Purse’s gigs all summer, but this one was a special one. Jay Pee Chroma and Life and the Good Times already had their custom Gallo Guitar and this was the night they were debuting with it. I met Jay Pee and Ethan around 6pm and then headed towards Cambridge. We got there, unloaded their gear and went to grab some food. After we were done eating, we entered Club Bohemia and decided to hang out to see the other bands play. Life and the Good Times was playing second to last, so we still had some time to mess around.
The gig was a mix of very different acts and genres. The night opened with a band from Texas and then went on to a local Jazz band that had a surprisingly big following. Both acts were fun and entertaining, but now it was time for “the good times” just as Jay Pee likes to say.
Life and the Good Times was up next. They got up and got the stage ready for the show. As they did that, I started setting up my camera and talking to the sound engineer about what the best lighting situation would be. When I was done with that, I went back to my spot and started seeing some familiar faces. The stage was fuller than I’ve ever seen it before. – I was already excited, but all that people made the whole atmosphere even better! – It was only a few minutes until they started to play and I could not wait. Then, amazing tunes happened.
Jay scatted to the drumbeat, and the rest of the band started jamming. They did that for around a minute and then they jumped right into their first song. ‘Beautiful Mess’ is a funky song that talks about sexual discrimination and how “they can say whatever they want, because this kind of love is beautiful”. As the opener concluded, they went for ‘Apparently’ a faster song that talks about society standards and how people tell you that you should do this and that because apparently, that’s the way things should be done.
After these two, it was time for a love song, MIA, and a tribute to an artist we all admire: Prince. Before that song, Jay Pee went to the microphone and talked about how much Prince influenced his life and how much he deserved this tribute. Juan, who had Jay Pee’s guitar for this one, started playing and everyone immediately recognized that they were playing a cover for ‘Kiss’. The crowd went absolutely crazy on this one. Everybody was singing and dancing around. I even got so excited that I almost dropped my camera and started dancing as well. No lie. The positive vibes were infectious!
The good times just kept coming. They played a couple more songs on the set and closed with their rockiest song ‘Sassy Strut’. This song talks about a man who thinks he has it all, but actually has nothing. He plays with girls, he wastes money, but he has no happiness and it’s all an act for a man who lacks character. I love this song and I think it’s the perfect closer. On this one they really managed to get everybody on their feet and dance to their amazing funkiness.
– Jose Gallo –