Rock ‘n Romance: The Seductive Sights and Sounds of Berkeley, California and UC Berkeley’s Greek Theatre

On a recent weekend getaway, I traveled up to Berkeley, California to witness the glory that is the XX play the Greek Theatre. Hundred Waters, a band recently signed to Skrillex’s label OWSLA, opened for the trio, and the concert in its entirety was one of the best experiences I’ve had this year!

As my girlfriend and I touched down at Oakland International Airport the day before the XX played, we were thrilled to get away from Orange County and out to the bay; the vacation felt like it was long overdue and the gorgeous weather looked as if it, too, would add to our idea of a perfect California weekend along the coast.

We stayed at the Double Tree by Hilton at the Berkeley Marina, and as we learned from other guests of the hotel, it was indeed a busy weekend for UC Berkeley: Mumford & Sons had already played two nights of a three-night gig at the Greek Theatre and would be finishing their gig that very same night with Michael Kiwanuka and the Mystery Jets kicking off the show.

That evening, the city was pulsating from all of the concert energy. You could feel it in the streets and in the parks, at the metro stations and even in the taxis.

We took the hotel shuttle up to the Greek Theatre, the very last stop. Everyone else was headed to the show, anxious to get there for a place in line, while we just went along for the ride.

A couple near the back of the shuttle had brought along their six-year old son who knew most of the words to Mumford and Sons’ newest album, Babel, already – Mumford and Sons at the Greek Theatre was to be his very first concert experience.

The crowds were amped and the feeling of the place was exceptionally vibrant. Walking back down the road on Hearst St. was like walking against the flow of traffic.

We stopped off at the Pho Bar on Euclid Ave. for a bit of a breather. I ordered the Broken Rice Plate – pork over broken Jasmine rice with a fried egg on top – and my girlfriend ordered the Chicken Pho. We sat there in the dining hall area, the last customers of the night, wondering what our concert experience the next day would entail.

The next day, as we walked through a farmer’s market near the downtown Metro station, I could smell the amazingly fresh and aromatic aroma of Blue Bottle Coffee filtering through the warm morning air. That signature blue bottle on the eco-friendly coffee cup stared up at me as I waited impatiently for the wet grinds to finish dripping.

Already sweating from the heat of the day, I cherished that warm cup of coffee as if my life depended on it. And in a way it did: not only am I addicted to coffee, but one of my guiltiest pleasures in life is going “coffee bar-hopping” in the bay area, with Blue Bottle Coffee being my favorite place to visit.

The relaxing, dream-like warmth of the coffee was the prefect precursor to the XX. The Dream Pop labeled genre of their music, which we’d be hearing in less than seven hours, is currently another one of my addictions.

It’s funny; many people have commented that the XX’s music is the perfect breakup music. As it turns out, it was the first band that I introduced my girlfriend to, and it’s the band that we always reference, always listen to, together. The lyrics are so gorgeously sung by both the male and female vocalists, and the guitars pull at every chord and fiber in your chest as they crone out their rich melodies. If I had to choose a single word to describe the XX’s music, I’d simply say ‘seductive’ – a throbbing, dreamy, strumming seduction.

As usual, by the end of the night my throat was hoarse from all of the singing out loud – just about the only time I sing out loud aside from the shower is at a concert, so I never miss the chance. Even if I don’t know all of the words to a song, I’ll still belt out a questionably sound yet reasonably close facsimile at a concert!

But I knew the words to the XX. And as my favorite songs were played, such as “Angel,” “Fiction,” “Shelter,” and “Try,” my girlfriend and I took turns as lead vocalists during our favorite parts of our favorite songs.

And though I probably spent more money on food at the Greek – street tacos and beer: yes! – the entire experience was one of those moments that you play and replay and play again in your mind, that you gel with and hum along with like your favorite song on repeat.

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