Jessica:

My best description of this show would be a funky, eclectic, indie rock experience. They performed on a make-shift stage in the bar’s back room that was stifling hot. The show was 21 and up, but there was still some definite “fangirling” going on. The gig started a few hours after Jackson’s sister’s art show, and his family was there supporting him. His sister also does the artwork for the bands album cover.

Aside from the heat, and the slight boyband fan experience, I really did enjoy myself. The band members frequently switched instruments and places on stage showing their broad range of music talent – which each member has in masses. One of my favorite performances was of a song called, “Sugar and Corn.” Their stuff is very hard to describe, but I will say they sound awesome live. I had heard a few of their songs on myspace before seeing the show and enjoyed them live much better than online. They also do a lot of improv on stage.  Their music is not for everyone (definitely has some adult content) but still very fun. I think they are a great bar band and very talented guys.  After the show, fans swarmed to where Jackson was hanging out.  He took a few fan pictures, but said politely that he hadn’t seen his family in six months and couldn’t do anymore because he wanted to spend time with them.  Sadly, I was not able to get a pic with him.  Another slight disappointment – I did not see anyone in a banana suit.  I thought that was supposed to happen at all their shows?  Oh well, overall I had a good time!

Ali:

I can safely say that I went to the hottest concert ever last night…literally.

100 Monkeys played here in Dallas at the Bryan Street Tavern. For those of you who are out of the loop and wondering what that has to do with Twilight, Jackson Rathbone is a member of the band, along with Ben Graupner, Jerad Anderson, Ben Johnson and Marty the Bananager (who unfortunately was not with us last night, so no banana for us).

I arrived painfully early, but I knew there would be quite a few people even with the 21+ age limit and the venue was rather small, so if I was going to go then I wanted a good spot. What I hadn’t planned on was that the room the band would be playing in would be so stiflingly hot. Whoops. However, it’s Texas, we’re used to heat here.

The band wasn’t set to go on until around midnight, but by 10:45 they were there. They came on the make-shift stage to set up their equipment and were joking with the crowd that was there while trying to get everything situated. Eventually Jackson came out to help and would occasionally look up and shoot a grin for whoever was fast enough with their camera.

At midnight, the band went on and the crowd went wild. There was a lot of “fangirling” going on, and I’m sure at some point the guys were blind from all the camera flashes. They never missed a beat though. The music was just fun to listen to: a diverse mix of music from almost every genre you can imagine plus a lot of energy from guys who seem to be perfectly comfortable just being themselves. I think one of the best moments was when Ben Graupner was at the keyboard, dancing and jumping around behind it, grinning from ear to ear. Of course, that was eclipsed when they asked the audience what they should make up a song about, only to have Jackson have to come up with lyrics on the spot to their new song, “Sugar and Corn”.

The guys are incredibly musically talented. Throughout the show, they were switching instruments, trading out depending on what song they were about to play. One minute Jackson would be on the keyboard, the next Jerad had taken them over and Jackson had moved to the bass. I have never seen a band do this, but I was amazed by how gifted they all were and how they had no trouble just picking up whichever instrument they got their hands on and playing with everything they had in them.

Somewhere toward the later part of the show, Jackson’s sister, Kelly, came from her gallery opening and Jackson pulled her on stage to help them make up another song. I bring this up because the two of them interacting with each other was very sweet. It is obvious that he loves his older sister, and the rest of his family, very much. It was touching, to say the least.

After the show was over and everyone had about sweated to death (did I mention that room was hot?), the party semi-migrated to the patio outside to mingle with the band. A group of people gathered around Jackson, hoping to get a picture or two, but he politely said that he was with his family whom he hadn’t seen in 6 months and wanted to spend time with them so he wasn’t doing anymore pictures. I hung out for a while anyway to see if the crowd would lighten up, but eventually gave in and left tired, thirsty and slightly deaf like usual, but extraordinarily surprised at the music I’d heard. I will not lie, the main reason I went in to the show because I wanted the chance to be a foot from Jackson Rathbone. However, it turned into more than just a mission to add him to the stars that I had seen up close, and I can say that I might have just become a Monkey Junkie.