Concert Report: The Protomen

I had the chance to see The Protomen again tonight, and man were they great.

I had seen them at PAX last year, and I still consider that the best concert I’ve ever been to. This was still special though.

The Protomen had never played in Oklahoma City, or anywhere else in the state for that matter before tonight. It was way different from the PAX show. Smaller, more intimate. At PAX they packed one of the biggest concert halls in Seattle. In OKC they played The Conservatory. That may sound nice to those not familiar with the local music scene, but The Conservatory is basically an un-air conditioned cinderblock and sheet metal shack. Being August, being in there was reminiscent of Satan’s jock strap. The sign by the door says it’s approved for 240 people by the fire marshal, but I have no idea how you’d fit that many in. The venue does have a great beer list though. No Bud, no Coors, no Miller, no “domestics.” They still have U.S. made stuff, even some Oklahoma brews like Choc. There were plenty of hipsters drinking PBR though. Why they’ve latched on to that crap, I’ll never know.

I’d guess about 100-125 people made it out for the show, partially driven by the two local opening bands. Neither one has any sort of videogame connection, but they were Deerpeople and The Lovely Bones if you’re interested.

The Protomen put together something of a “best of” setlist, featuring songs from both Acts 1 & 2. And because this the the Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now tour, they played their rendition of the Starship song. Good times.

You can check out the rest of the dates on their tour here, most notably those around PAX. They weren’t invited back this year, for some reason (they did play PAX East though), but they’re crashing the party anyway. Hell, I might skip out on one of the official concerts to see these guys again. They’re that good.