The best fans are...
Zac: oscillating? (Wah-Wah)
Ellen: The ones who don't know the words, but mouth along really enthusiastically anyway, it always makes me smile because they are still making the effort...but I dont think we can choose "the best fans," because they have paid to see us, so surely it is our job to entertain them not judge them. (Well we can judge them a little bit if they start shouting out stupid comments or bashing into people) If they are enjoying it despite our mistakes and unprofessionalism then that's always nice.
Best venue to play
Zac: Nationally, Parenthetical Girls are partial to both the Cake Shop in NYC and the Hi Dive in Denver. Our experience in the Bay Area is somewhat more limited, but we've had pleasant experiences at 21 Grand in Oakland, as well as both the Hemlock Tavern and Bottom of the Hill.
Ellen: We just played in Minneapolis at a place called Varsisty Theatre which had the most amazing decor, it was like a upmarket brothel (i imagine) I know that doesn't make it sound as aesthetic as it was, but think really upmarket where only the best ladies of the night hang out. Also it had big luxurious chairs on the side of the stage so when I got tired I could have a little break.
Lamest crowd request
Zac:Audiences who might tend to heckle are generally more inclined to just ignore us, but we did have an exceptionally awesome request from one audience member recently: a young gentleman asked our keyboardist Matt Carlson to sign his pick guard. The jury's still out as to whether he thought Matt might have been a Campesino!, but we're taking it as a sign that we've officially stepped up to "the next level". Considering that we recently witnessed Los Campesinos! signing some lucky kid's iPod however, it's obvious that we've got a long way to go.