Cake, December 2 at the Grove

Cake played the Grove in Anaheim. I'd heard of the venue but had never been there and this was my first chance. It's a good place: real clean, spacious, great sound, modern, and plenty of free parking. Jen is a big Cake fan and I like the band enough that I thought it might be a good show. And it was. Apparently it was for some festival with other bands I hadn’t heard of (which apparently included the Brazilian Girls, Oakley Hall, Detroit Cobras, King City, Agent Ribbons, and the Saltex Brujo -- still bands I haven't heard of. Apparently Cake did that festival tour for a few years, a few times includ the Flaming Lips, Modest Mouse, Cheap Trick, Gogol Bordello and Tegan and Sara. How are those guys able to headline shows with those bands?), which we missed because we decided to go to Disneyland for the evening beforehand instead. But we got there in time to see Cake and they ran down all the hits and the crowd was into it. And Jen was excited to be there. Sometimes it’s fun to take a chance on a band you don’t know and hear something new (except for the stuff that got killed to death on the radio)