MMJ, Avi Buffalo, The Greek Theatre

Earlier this week, my friend Julia asked Wendy and me if we wanted to attend a concert at the Greek. I have to admit I wasn't super familiar with the bands, but when she asks, you don't say no. (She has killer seats at the Bowl and makes amazing bento boxes, too.) The first band was Long Beach's own Avi Buffalo. All I knew about them was that they are on Sub Pop and that the lead singer was a pro skater who turned to music after an injury. The sound was totally unexpected, maybe like Daniel Johnston singing for the Allman Brothers. They were clearly stoked to be playing a huge stage instead of the Fingerprints record shop, and the band had family members in the crowd cheering them on, which was nice to see. The guitarist on the far left totally looked like my friend Tadashi…

Headlining was My Morning Jacket. From their hit song, I thought they might sound like Rank & File's third album, washed-out and sort of metallic cowpunk. Weird, since they used to be on Darla Records, which is better known for dreamy indie-tronica. They turned out to be full-on classic rock band, which was fun to watch. Lots of hair… The funny thing is that I've actually seen them years ago–opening for Paul Weller at the House of Blues. I went with Pryor, who just reminded me…

It's been a while since I've been to a show at the Greek, and it's an awesome place to see a somewhat big band (or Neil Diamond) on a summer night. Tonight is the big Dolores Huerta benefit with Carlos Santana, Pete Escovedo, and Zack de la Rocha's new band, One Day as a Lion, which just might be your excuse…