Photo Courtesy of The Donkeys
By: Hannah Winokur
I first heard The Donkeys in 2010. I had just moved to San Diego and had found solace and friendship in a lovely application known as Pandora. I am 90% certain I was on my much adored “Rilo Kiley” station when the ever so catchy “Nice Train” by The Donkeys caught my attention. The lead singer is at some hipster bar, and there is two gay guys fawning. God it’s catchy.
With a few clicks and an entire $.99 I made the song mine, into my iTunes library for me to have forever. Fellow music fans-do you ever get that itch to know everything about the artists you flood your ears with? Well, I do. I soon learned The Donkey’s were locals, and not So Cal locals-San Diego locals.
Fast forward 6 years and I still love the damn song. And then I hear they are playing at Soda Bar, you know what happens next.
If you are curious what the genre “surf-rock” is-you should really just listen/go see The Donkeys. The slightly unkempt, entirely fashionable quartet easily tricks you into thinking you were alive and well in California the 1960s (which I definitely was not.) The Donkeys play a full set and it’s not obscene to say they sound just as good live as they do on record. The evening is a fair introduction to their new mini-album Midnight Palms —purchase here. A lovely look into the how The Donkeys songs can simultaneously relax and consume you, and all this in under four minutes.
Photo via Noisey
Side note: The crowd is coupled off. So yes, if you were wondering-this is an appropriate show to take your significant other to. But don’t get me wrong—-this crowd can drink. What’s a show in San Diego with out some craft beer flowing?
The night ends around 1 something in the morning. The crowd is ultimately satisfied with The Donkey songs they have just had the pleasure of hearing-both old and new. It was a successful hometown show for The Donkeys. And something tells me the fans were not there out of mere obligation.