by Mike Generic

The intimate Xander's Grill is located in the heart of Bakersfield. The event is sponsored by KELLY 105.3, B-entertained Magazine, and RC Discovery Music. Every Wednesday, there will be a band performing an acoustic set at Xander's Grill. Tonight, I was fortunate enough to watch and hear Near Miss Mallet live.

Recently, I have been late to everywhere I go. The other day, I was late to arrive at the middle school I work for part-time. Yesterday, I was late for my science class exam. Tonight, I was late to show up at Xander's Grill and I thought I'd miss a few songs from Near Miss Mallet. The show was supposed to start at 10 pm.

It would take about 15 minutes to drive from my apartment to Xander's Grill, according to mapquest.com. One of my friends, who was supposed to come along with me, decided to disappear around 9:20 pm. So, I was looking for his ass frantically. I went to see if his car was still parked, and it was. I went to see if he was at a neighbor's crib, nowhere to be found. I went back inside the apartment, impatiently waiting for his face to show up. Then around 9:40 he finally walked in the apartment, sweating like a mother ... well ok. "So, you still going right?" I asked him. "Ummm, yeah," he replied. "It's freaking 9:40 already." "Alright, let me jump in the shower real quick."

Finally, we were off the parking lot at 9:50 pm. We were cruising along Truxtun Avenue, assuming that I know the direction to Xander's Grill since I've looked it up on mapquest several days ago. Unfortunately, we got freaking lost. The place is located on 1419 19th street but I was heading towards 1914 19th street. So, we were investigating the 1914 building as there was no Xander's sign anywhere or any cars to be found. Suddenly, it popped out of my mind, "Dangit, I think it's on 1419 19st." One of my friends commented jokingly, "Good going Mike." We were obviously late.

It was around 10:15 when we finally arrived at Xander's Grill.



As we entered the restaurant, there were no immediate people to be found except for a couple of Xander's Grill employees. However, we heard a miniscule cacophony from the back of the restaurant so we approached it quickly. We saw a stairway that leads to a basement where all the noise was coming from. This place is also known as the bar. As I was walking down the stairs, right away, I saw this big giant KELLY 95.3 sign on the wall. Near Miss Mallet was already playing when we went down the basement. I asked a young woman, who was amidly listening to the band, "Is this their first song of the night?" She replied smiling, "Yes it is." I was kind of glad that we were on time after being lost in downtown.



Melissa Wiggins has an amazing voice. She's like an angel whispering divine songs directly to your ears. When she sings, she will leave you in a daze. I said to my friends, "she's got a wonderful voice." And when I say 'wonderful voice,' I'm really serious. There are tons of musicians in Bakersfield; ambidextrous drummers, virtuoso keyboardists, talented guitar and bass players, but true vocalists are rare in Bakersfield. Only a few bands here in town has a true vocalist and Near Miss Mallet is definitely one of them.



I've listened to all the songs on Near Miss Mallet's myspace website. These songs are: Miss America, Falling, Telephone to Girl, and You Don't Know. All of which are great songs. The band reminds me of Natalie Imbruglia and a taste of The Cranberries in some ways. Nevertheless, Near Miss Mallet has their own blend of music. I like the vibe I was feeling when I was listening to their music down at Xander's tonight. I just wished they had a bass player to accompany their amazing music. "I should have brought my bass tonight," I shouted to my friends. "Nah, then you'd pull some Green Day bass line with their music," one of my friends shouted back. I guess he was right. For those of you who haven't heard Near Miss Mallet music, go listen to them and you will be amazed. Go spin some of their tracks on myspace and give it a few minutes until the songs reaches within your bone marrow and eventually to you soul.



Brock Wiggins, Melissa's hubby, was on the electric guitar. Nothing was fancy in his playing but I can see that he's a veteran at what he does. His fingers on the guitar strings slide up and down smoothly. His plucking was perfect and his strumming was gentle and fluid. He also plays for the local band called The Had and The Been with Paul Cartwright.



In the middle of the set, I went right behind the drummer to investigate the rest of the basement bar. I went ahead and complimented the drummer thankfully. "You guys have some great music, I like the vibe man," I whispered to him right after the song ending. "Oh, thanks man," he replied gently. I thought the show was going to be entirely an acoustic set but I was glad it wasn't just acoustic guitars. There were drums and electric guitar along with the customary acoustic guitar.



Melissa's voice reminded me so much of my female cousin's amazing voice. My cousin sang for a churche choir since she was 8 years old ( currently 23 ) and it's evident in her voice. So, I'm wondering how long Melissa has been singing, hmmm. I have never had the pleasure to sit down and play my acoustic while a vocalist is singing along. It's been a while at the least. I am an acoustic fanatic and I play the acoustic guitar a lot.

This was the first time we'd been in Xander's Grill I must say that I did like the venue. A good place to hangout and drink with your buddies and your sweeatheart in that case. Perhaps, a good place to dine as well, but I'm ain't reviewing the food.



They played Miss America to conclude the show. As they were playing the intro to the song, people were cheering and obviously know the song. I only know the song because I've listened to it on myspace. I heard one fan said that she has been listening to Near Miss Mallet in her car while driving. Other fans were singing along to Miss America.

"Can we play 2 more songs?" asked Melissa. "Yeah!" some people cheered out loud. So, they went ahead and played a couple more songs. I should also say that the show was relatively short though. As one of my friends said, "That's it? man!" I think he felt the same way as I did. There was an urgent feeling of wanting more from Near Miss Mallet tonight. I wasn't sure If they were set to play a 30 minute set or they decided to play only a few songs but it was definitely a short performance. Nonetheless, my friends and I enjoyed the show.



After Near Miss Mallet's set, I congratulated each one of the them. I talked to Melissa for a little bit as the other guys were too busy taking care of their instruments and gadgets. I introduced myself, "Hi, I'm Mike. I'm the person who's running BUMS. Nice set and good music." After a while, other people started talking to Melissa, perhaps friends, family, and fans. So, I bid my farewell and said goodbye to Near Miss Mallet. We walked up the stairs and back into the silent world of Bakersfield downtown.



My friends were craving for some ice cream. We attempted to drive by Rosemary's Ice Cream Parlor and unfortunately, it was already closed. So, we were back on the infamous Truxtun Avenue, just cruising along and listening to Tre Cool's notorious wife-beating redneck music.

You can also read an interview from B-entertained with Near's Miss Mallet's Melissa Wiggins.