The show was really poorly attended. I could understand people not wanting to pay $15 for them when they're the quintessential type of live show that someone would describe as "boring", and then there were the Halloween parties and the like on Saturday, but there were about 50 people at the venue, which was well less than a fourth of the ballroom. Kind of bizarre to see. When the Sea and Cake took the stage there wasn't even a regular ovation for them, just 4 or 5 claps spread out through the gigantic room. I kind of felt bad for them. But they trudged through and even came back for an encore. Good show, especially watching John McEntire (also of Tortoise) on drums. Disappointingly they didn't play anything from Oui but Jacking the Ball and The Argument were highlights.
Also the opener that greeted the small crowd was Matthew Friedberger, the brother from brother/sister duo The Fiery Furnaces (who I actually still like, esp. Blueberry Boat). His solo performance was telling a "40-minute ghost story" where he would tell a story/comedy bit about working in a graveyard and getting visits from his great grandmother in his dreams which would occasionally turn into opera ballads and walking around the stage to sometimes sit down and play a keyboard and synth and a couple of bass solos. It wasn't as bad as this probably sounds but it was still bad.
