You already know by now that today is National Record Store Day. Evan announced it earlier, and don’t forget about Eric and his uncontrollable urges. We spent the afternoon at Fingerprints - Long Beach’s premier (only?) independent record store. Two free in house performances by Limbeck and Silversun Pickups and a signing by metal god Rob Halford drew divergent crowds as well as the usual vinylphile and music enthusiasts.
Halford was approachable and greeted his fans warmly, inviting them to sit next to him for photos. The legend of Judas Priest crossed generational boundaries: 9-year-old Sophia Temperilli was just as excited to have her first guitar autographed as her parents were. By sunset, a teenage crowd had emerged for the evening’s performances.
While Fingerprints has expanded over the years, there is absolutely no wasted space. Stacks of CDs 3 feet high were liberally strewn about, as were boxes of t-shirts. Suffice it to say Fingerprints is your typical neighborhood record store. We would like to offer details of the Silversun Pickups’ set, but the list was full within minutes and we missed out. We did, however, have a chance to check out Limbeck: lead singer Robb MacLean’s gravelly alto timbre was perfectly suited to their country tinged indie rock sound.
Fans weren’t discouraged by the late start of the set or the lack of a rhythm section. In fact, there was no room for percussion or the bass: two dudes and two guitars was all the stage could handle for this intimate performance.
In a modern age of cultural homogenization and the dominance of iTunes, independent record stores are still one of the best places to discover otherwise obscure music.
Cross posted to Newsvine.
© Kimberlee Morrison and Tanya Payne for Listen In. Some rights reserved.
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