Exceptional circumstances lead to exceptional evenings, as was the case when modern jazz quartet Bogg had equipment stolen out of its car.
Community support came flooding in after the Chico-based band posted about their situation on Facebook, culminating in Thursday’s show, Survival of the Kindest, hosted by Cafe Coda.
The bandmates’ friends offered to play free of charge and the story spread like wildfire as the idea for the show gained momentum, said Josh Hegg, keyboardist for Bogg.
“This thing has gotten a lot of attention,” Hegg said. “I don’t think that the story is that our gear got stolen, the story is how supportive the community is about our plight. A huge amount of, ‘How can we help, what can we do?’ It shows how incredible the Chico community is.”
The bands that participated played shorter sets, but audience members got to see no less than six different bands. Bogg, Aubrey Debauchery and The Broken Bones, Ben Ruttenburg and Samantha Francis of Decades, Lish Bills, Loki Miller and The Entertainment and The Shimmies performed.
Having many different artists in one convenient location is the perfect opportunity to get a real taste of the local scene. It works well for those whose ventures out into the musical world are few and far between, like Taylor Yip, a senior health education major.
“I love them, I think they’re great,” Yip said. “I don’t normally go out, but going to support local bands feels really good.”
Some audience members are better acquainted with the band, like Kathleen Merrill, a longtime fan of Bogg who comes to see the band perform during their regular Friday shows at Cafe Coda.
“I think they’re really beloved,” Merrill said. “I think they were personally shocked at the reaction, that how many people were just, ‘Wow, we really like you guys and this sucks.’ Everybody felt like they needed to step forward.”
The band members and audience came from all different age groups and professions, with community members and students mixing and mingling as they enjoyed three straight hours of nonstop jams.
“I think it’s terrific,” Merrill said. “I mean it just shows this community has backbone and they support people. And that’s very unusual.”
Although misfortune started the idea of this special concert, Hegg and his bandmates remain positive and look toward more musical adventures in the future, he said.
“At the end of the day, we’re all doing what we love as a profession and we can’t be upset that we got a stroke of bad luck,” Hegg said.
Maegan Webster can be reached at [email protected] or @mae_dictionary on Twitter.
