Her Space Holiday has opened for such groups at Bright Eyes, The Faint, Pinback, and Bob Mould.  I found their music to be in the same vein, while maintaining their own unique sound. I liked their song “Sleepy Tigers” (which can be heard on the Cox Communications commercial) as well as “Year in Review” and am especially fond of their cover of Wolf Parade’s “I’ll Believe Anything.” They’ve been making music for years, and have recorded six studio albums, so while they’re popularity has increased recently, they have the experience to back it up.

The show was at The Loft on the UCSD campus. I was hesitant about seeing a show at UCSD, as I am dissuaded to even see a show at the RIMAC arena, however, this venue promised to be more intimate and lounge-y so I thought, “How bad can it be?” Well, I would soon find out.

It took about 10 minutes or driving around the campus before I figured out where this place was. I parked somewhere that I hoped was in the vicinity, and started to wander around looking extremely out of place. I had to ask the first co-eds I saw if they could direct me to the loft. They said, "just go to the building with the blue steps," so I did only to find myself in a large, two-storied building that seemed to be the student center. There was a food court, and there was ogling, but there was still no Loft. So I asked another pair of co-eds who said it was upstairs. Finally. I made it, and in time to boot.

I was very disoriented upon arrival. The Loft is one decent sized, open room with some counters, tables, and bean bag seating. There were two merch tables set up in the back, but otherwise no bathrooms and no Concessions, let alone a bar. The inside was decorated nicely, but it didn’t matter because it still felt like a school assembly. The band took the stage a few minutes after I got there, with Marc Bianchi saying, “This is the most sober we’ve been at a show.”

Her Space Holiday consists of five band members: Marc Bianchi on vocals & guitar, another guitar player, bass player, two drummers, & a guy on percussion/sample machine/xylophone.  They were pretty amazing. Their sound was solid and Bianchi’s vocals were intense, reminding me of Conor Oberst’s voice from Bright Eyes. "Sleepy Tigers" sounds very indie recorded, but it was very “rock” live. In fact, every song was very loud and full, but also clear, with a toe-tapping beat. Even their slower songs felt upbeat. Perhaps having 2 drum sets added to that feel.  Her Space Holiday used a lot of samples of orchestra sounding strings, and other sound effects, which they played over, also adding to the dramatic sound.  Marc Bianchi is a skinny, angry little man, and he informed the crowd that “what we lack in size we make up for in enthusiasm.” He is also sarcastic.

You could tell the band was less than thrilled to be there. They kept having to tell the sound guys what to do, they barely talked to the crowd, and they didn’t do an encore. The attitude bothered me a little, but I couldn’t blame them. It seemed like a waste of a show having such a good band play at such a crappy venue. Regardless, I was glad to have seen them. Hopefully Her Space Holiday will come back to San Diego for a proper show.