I Went to a Show: Jel, Busdriver, and Astronautalis at Doug Fir (December 10, 2012)

My Mondays are usually pretty busy: I work from 9-5, play dodgeball from 7-8, and usually watch whatever crappy movie is on my list for the Sly Records Weekly Waste page I update every Tuesday night. So, I don't normally have much extracurricular activity slated for the first day of the beginning of the week.

I had almost forgotten about this show, but was reminded via my Twitter stream, and since I missed Busdriver the last time he was in town, I decided I'd head down to the Doug Fir on the solo creep and make up for it.

I rolled in about halfway through Jel's set, as he was telling a story that went on about four minutes too long. He eventually fired up his MPC and rallied some live-on-the-pads beats, which were great, but it felt like he spent as much time talking as he did playing music. People seemed to enjoy it, so maybe I'm being a crotchety whiner. I've just never been a big fan of excessive stage banter.

Busdriver hopped on stage before Jel's set was over, dropping some rapid-fire freestyles over some kick-heavy beats. This seemed to warm him up, and after Jel made his exit, Bus turned to his table o' samplers, tweaking beats as he played variations on songs both old and new. Sometimes he got too bold and flubbed it a little bit, but it was damn fun to watch him knob-twiddle and see what happened.

The dude seems like he's constantly on the road, and I gotta say: every time I've seen him, he never seems like he's road-weary or phoning it in. He's not the most sociable guy, but once he gets on stage, he gets up and doesn't come down until he's spent. It's always a good time. This was one of the shorter sets I've seen him play, but it was packed. He even did some Flash Bang Grenada joints. Boom.

I've been trying to get into Astronautalis, because the dude collaborates (and tours) with a lot of musicians I like. I haven't had much luck, and his performance at this gig didn't sway me. Don't get me wrong: he's got his shit together and he's great at what he does, but it just isn't my thing. I stayed for about half his set because I wanted to see where he was going with everything, but then I was a little bored and a little tired so I went home.

I like going to shows by myself sometimes. It's fun to blend in, zone out, and arrive and depart whenever the hell I want. Like a big boy!

I Went to a Show: Death Grips at the Star Theater (December 1, 2012)

I went from writing off Death Grips as punk-rap flashes-in-the-pan to considering them one of the most innovative, intriguing bands on the planet in the course of a day. Something clicked and I finally realized that, even if the naysayers are right and these dudes are just cyber-savvy attention whores, I'm buying into it because if nothing else, they're a damn fun band to follow: they release a ton of music, a ton of videos, and everything they do seems to be shitting on the thing they just did a month or two before.

The danger of a band like this is that they're bound to burn out or implode before they really finish their business (Death Grips has basically already committed career suicide on numerous occasions), so when I heard they were coming to town, I was really hoping I'd get a chance to see them. A pal of mine in the music-journalism business responded to some gentle prodding by me and hooked up a pair of tickets through one of the local papers he writes for, and boom: we were in.

We had to wait in line in the rain for almost an hour, so we missed about half of opener Cities Aviv's set, which would have been more of a bummer if the dude's voice hadn't been shredded. As it was, he was struggling to be heard, and the deep buzz of his beats was drowning out most of his attempts. Still pretty cool, but I felt like we weren't getting his best.

After a short break, the Death Grips dudes came out, peeled off their shirts, turned on the two huge Apple monitors that were standing on end behind them, and just beat everyone into submission over the course of a nonstop, 45-minute barrage. Then they were done. They walked off stage, the house lights quickly came up, and it was all over. Barely a goodbye and never even a hint of an encore. And it made perfect sense.

Those 45 minutes were machine-gun brutal, an assault that was both slow and forceful, chaotic but precise. They played shit from all their records - interesting considering they seem to refer to anything they haven't created in the last two weeks as irrelevant - and though they don't really have "hits," the elbow-throwing crowd did perk up during the opening thumps of "Guillotine" and "I've Seen Footage."

We just stood in the back and watched kids go apeshit on each other, and by the end I was exhausted even though I barely moved.

I have a feeling this will be one of those "Glad I got see them when I had the chance" shows, but I'm hoping it's not. The world needs more bands who proudly sell t-shirts with their dick-centric album cover on the front.

I Went to a Show: Hazel at the Star Theater (September 8, 2012)

Hazel twice in one year? I feel like a flannel-clad teenager again.

This show was part of Musicfest NW, and I wasn't sure if that meant it would be more crowded or less. It turned out to be not uncomfortably jam-packed, and the people who were there were mostly older, so it made for an atmosphere in which you could actually watch the music and enjoy the show, which is what old-man me is looking for these days.

The one exception was this backwards-hatted bro who shoved past my wife and I right before Hazel went on, stumbling and generally assing out. He posted up right in front of the prime spot I had locked down, the bill of his hat almost jabbing me in the chin, and I braced myself for the worst. Then, right as I was figuring out how we could escape his idiocy, he winged an empty tall-boy of Pabst at the sound guy while he was checking cables onstage, and promptly got escorted out by security. And I laughed. Oh, how I laughed.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Pete Krebs opened the show - which I soon found out was being billed as a Cavity Search showcase, though I never saw that mentioned anywhere - and he did it solo, which was fine, except that in certain listings he had been slotted to appear with Gossamer Wings, his ever-changing (and long-dormant) backing band, and I was excited to see him plug in and possibly rock a bit. Still, I don't get to see Pete play his old solo stuff very frequently anymore, so I wasn't pissed about the stripped-down setup - just mildly disappointed.

Anyway, he did play some stuff from the first Gossamer Wings records, including "Pacific Standard Time," "Analog," "Sweet Ona Rose," and "Thunderstorms and Alcohol." He also whipped out some new tracks that are apparently going to be part of a new solo record he's putting out sometime soon. The songs sounded a lot like the stuff he was doing a decade ago, and I'm all for that.

Sno Bud & The Flower People were next. I only know these dudes from seeing their names on flyers when I was in high school, and from some friends whose music taste I did not trust listening to them around that same time. Oh, and from an old video on Bohemia Afterdark, which also aired during that era. Never felt like it was my thing, and their set didn't do much to change that.

Here is a video of one of their songs from the show.

The next band up was dirtclodfight, who I'm embarrassed to say I'd never even heard of. Apparently they've been around for years, have released stuff on the Cavity Search label, and enjoy pummeling people with their rock assault. It was just two dudes, a guitarist and a drummer, and after the lead guy knocked out a few acoustic songs at the beginning of their set, he plugged in his guitar (possibly a baritone?) and they went nuts. It was sweet.

Here's a video of one of the songs they played.

The last time I saw Hazel they didn't have Brady, their bass player, with them, so I was giddy when the dude walked out on stage. (I knew he was going to be there, but I was still little-girl excited for the full lineup.) They went right into it, and I've gotta say: it might have been the best reunion show I've seen of theirs. They had a few little flubs (mostly when they played "Boog," which they hadn't rehearsed), but overall it was a really tight set of songs.

Because I am a loser, I kept track of the setlist. Here's how it went:

"Constipation"
"J. Hell"
"Comet"
"Incendiary"
"Joe Louis Punch Out"
"Title Track"
"Ohio Player"
"Mr. Magazine Man"
"Jilted"
"Push to Close"
"King Twist"
"Big Fatty"
"Boog"
"Day Glo"

Encore:
"Blank Florida"
"Truly"

Some random observations:

Fred's dancing makes my wife uncomfortable. She's always afraid that he is going to fall when he's balancing on the rickety tray-table he brings out with him, or that, when he's in his leotard, she's going to "see his balls."

Jody talked a lot during the set, and at one point stopped the show dead so she could tell a joke. Pete stood there, looking awkward/annoyed. It would not be a proper Hazel show without this moment.

Someone yelled out for "Cosmic Allison" and Jody said, "Did that song ever even make it onto an album?"

Someone else yelled out for "Green Eyes" and I don't remember exactly what Pete said, but I think he just repeated the name of the song and said "wow," like it had jarred something that he hadn't thought about in years.

Before they played "Truly," Brady said that it would definitely be their last song, because they had played everything they know."

Right when they came out, some dipshit was talking loudly on his cell phone in the front row and tried to hand it to Brady because he wanted him to say hi to his friend in Texas. He then proceeded to throw devil horns for the duration of the show, and at one point Jody looked at him and said, "What is your deal, dude?" He did not notice.

There were a few pro-looking cameras there, and I also saw some dude rigging up a board recording. I would like copies of any and all of these things.

Oh, and, Fred wore a Jason mask:

What a night.

I Went to a Show: Hazel at Al's Den (January 28, 2012)

Well, this isn't how I expected to spend my Saturday evening.

I'm a big fan of Hazel (see here, here, and here), and I've been lucky enough to see them every time (I think) that they've reunited since their dissolution in 1997-ish. They've only done a handful of these shows, and the gigs have always been at somewhat sizable venues and widely advertised. Not this time. In fact, I'm lucky I even ended up seeing this short set.

Here's what happened.

A friend of mine was in a band called Havoc Kow that put out a tape on Hazel drummer Jody Bleyle's Candy Ass Records in the early 90's. I guess he has kept in touch with her, because he hit me up late this afternoon to let me know that she had emailed him to tell him that she and Hazel frontman Pete Krebs were playing at Al's Den at 7 tonight and that they were going to be doing some Hazel songs. I got this message from him while I was sitting at Ringler's - which I haven't been to in at least six years - having lunch for a friend's birthday. He's the most non-Ringler's guy ever (it's kind of a bro bar), but there was a dude playing music there that he wanted to see, so that's why we were there.

Anyway, I'm mentioning this because Ringler's is right next to Ringler's Annex, and Al's Den is directly beneath the Annex. So, I basically got the news that there might be some Hazel-ish stuff going down in an hour or two, and I was already right next to where it was happening.

I've been to Al's Den before, and it's a low-key little place. There's a hotel connected to it, and the venue specializes in singer/songwriter stuff that out-of-towners can enjoy while grabbing a meal. I guess this is why I figured it might be an acoustic set, or at least something more stripped-down than the usual Hazel show. But when the wife and I (she was very understanding about all this) were walking toward the Den and I saw Hazel dancer Fred Nemo breeze past us on the street, I began to wonder what we were in for. (My wife after Fred passed us and I told her who it was: "I thought that was a homeless person." He's still got it!)

So, we headed down to the basement that is Al's Den, and when we got in there I saw Pete tuning an electric guitar at a table he was sitting at with Jody, and three drag queens standing next to them. There were two other drag queens on stage. Turns out they're having some big celebration for the Crystal Ballroom's 100th anniversary, and we had stumbled into the tail end of a female impersonator show where the performers were doing lip-sync/dance numbers and whatnot - you know, a drag show. My wife couldn't have been more excited; she loves that stuff. So I suddenly didn't feel so bad about giving her no choice but to accompany me to this show.

There were a lot of people there, but after Poison Waters said her goodbyes and announced that "Pink Jody" was coming up next, we were able to snag a front-row table that was vacated by a guy that bolted right after the drag queens were done. There was a short interlude Q&A (long story) by headlining act A Simple Colony, but after that, Pete and Jody took the stage and started getting set up. Also setting up: Donna Dresch, Jody's bandmate from Team Dresch, who would be handling the not-present Brady Smith's bass duties. (We later found out via stage banter that Brady is living in Abu Dhabi and Pete and Jody had not told him about the gig because they were afraid to. Pete had someone call his answering machine and hold up the phone while they played their last song.)

So, they plugged in, things started squealing a bit, Fred took the stage right after the first song started, and it felt like a real-deal Hazel show, aside from Brady's absence. But Donna did a fine job keeping up with the rusty/sloppy Pete and Jody, and the band kept it together pretty nicely aside from a few bits here and there. Who cares. It was just awesome to see them onstage. I'm a nerd, so I kept track of the setlist. Here it is, in order:

"Ohio Player"
"Day Glo"
"J. Hell"
"Comet"
"Title Track"
"King Twist"
"Blank Florida"
"Incendiary"

Those last two tracks were a bit unexpected. So, yeah, they played eight songs, which was apparently all they had "learned" for the gig, and the few of us Hazel nerds who were lucky enough to make it down there pretty much freaked out the whole time.

A few other things of note:

Though it was a short set, Fred still managed to change outfits four times, put on a dress, and do the water-pitcher-on-the-head balancing act (see picture above), which was making my wife very nervous. He didn't spill it.

During one of the songs - I think it was "Comet" - Jody strayed from the normal lead part she was supposed to sing and sang "Yeah, and you don't stop/'Cause it's 187 on an undercover cop" instead.

There was a hammered-drunk dude that all of a sudden appeared behind me and was screaming for "King Twist" at the top of his lungs. If you know how small Al's Den is, you know how obnoxious this was. It was even more grating for me because he was spitting all over me. But, they actually played "King Twist" and he was happy. Then after the show ended he made a beeline for Pete and fell into a table full of people in the process. After he recovered, he hugged Pete. I also heard him (as did everyone in the room) on the phone yelling to someone about how he was watching Hazel and it like he had been "transported back to 1993."

My wife on Fred: "What is that guy's deal?" "He's Fred," I replied.

I Went to a Show: Das Racist, Danny Brown, and Despot at Branx (November 7, 2011)

Das Racist won me over a few months ago.

When I first heard them I didn't really give a shit either way, then I was slightly annoyed with their snotty bullshit attitudes, and then I fell in love with the remix of Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire's "Huzzah" and realized that maybe I misjudged them. I've been really getting into their new record, and though I can see why they're not everyone's cup o' tea, they've been mine recently.

So, when I heard they were coming to Branx here in Portland (the downstairs of Rotture), along with Danny Brown - who I've also been listening to a lot lately - and Despot, one of the other "Huzzah" dudes, I figured I'd go check it out. Monday night wasn't sweetening the deal for my wife, but she was nice enough to go along with me, because she actually enjoys Das Racist, too.

I hadn't been to Branx since they started calling it that, but that building has been so many different venues over the years that I assume at some point I was in that room. Anyway, it's a dank little bar-hole that somehow manages to barrier off an all-ages section, which was packed with high school dudes when we got there. It's kind of hard to describe, but they have the barrier diagonal across the front of the stage, so all the front-row spots are in the all-ages section, with the corner of the bar part starting at the very far right side of the stage. Yeah, I'm not describing that very well. Point being, if you wanted to be right up front, you had to get in tight with a bunch of 17-year-old bros, and we weren't doing that. But, we did get a good spot in the bar part, up against the little barrier.

Despot rolled out first, backed by Das Racist crony Lakutis manning the laptop that was providing the beats. I hadn't heard a ton of his stuff before seeing him at the show (because he doesn't really have that much recorded material), so I was looking forward to seeing what he was going to come with. Not surprisingly, it was stuff from an upcoming album, and also not surprisingly, it was all pretty good. He was a bit awkward with the between-song chatter, almost to the point where I felt like he was fucking with us. Whatever. When he rapped, it was pretty badass. He probably did about eight songs and then left, though I figured we'd be seeing him later.

Danny Brown came out next, also backed by the cripplingly stoned Lakutis (I mean, the guy looked like he had just been maced). Judging from the lyrical content of his (free and awesome) recent album XXX, Danny Brown is a nut. I was looking forward to seeing him live, just to be in the same room as that weird-ass voice of his. And it really was something to hear. And he really was something to see. His hair was sprawling out from under his hat, and the dude is just mad gangly. He also rapped his ass off.

My wife's summation: "He's got the song about drugs and the song about pussy. And then what?" It's a legitimate question, and it's my one beef with the dude, too, but his delivery and energy made up for any lack of lyrical substance in this instance. He knocked out a solid little set, did the "hits" from XXX, and then said he was "ready to go smoke a blunt." And I'm sure he did.

He probably shared some with the Das Racist guys, too, because maaaaaaaan were they high. Not that I expected anything less, but Heems strolled out wearing a sweatshirt-material poncho and looking like he had been crying for two hours. Dude's eyes were bleary, and his gaze was far-offish. But when they started it up, he and Kool AD got into it, in their own act-like-we-don't-give-a-fuck sort of way. At times it was frustrating, but when they did "Amazing" and Lakutis came out from behind the laptop table and busted his verse, they were all amped up.

The set sort of dipped a bit in the middle when they decided to do like three songs in a row over an instrumental of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive," but it was slightly entertaining in its weirdness. Around that same time one of the speaker cones on the house PA caught fire, and everyone was too high to do anything but stare at it. Some bro finally put it out with his hand. That was bizarre.

The show sort of faded out more than it ended, with the guys just waltzing off stage after one of the songs was over. I was going to be pissed if we didn't get a "Huzzah" encore, and judging from the half-assed exit they made, I assumed it was coming. And, it was. All the dudes came back out, rapped the shit out of their verses from the song, and it made for a tremendous closer.

I ended up having a really good time. DR don't put on the tightest show in the rap business, but it was fun. And never have I seen such a weirdly diverse crowd at a rap show. Made for some great people-watching, and some annoyances. But that's the deal. Did I mention that they played clips of the Law & Order: SVU intro behind them (along with a lot of other film-collage stuff) while they played? Yeah, it was weird.

I Went to a Show: The Dwarves at Dante's (October 27, 2011)

I've been annoyingly late to the last few shows I went to - when I thought I was getting there with time to spare - so this time around, I figured I'd show up a little earlier than usual. My pal (who was nice enough to go with me to the show so my wife didn't have to) and I got to Dante's at about 9:30, and the opening band wasn't even setting up yet. I'll get it right one of these times.

Eh, whatever: it gave me time to check out the merch table, which was filled with Dwarves CDs, vinyl, DVDs, buttons, stickers, keychains, belt buckles, girls' undies, at least six different styles of t-shirts, and Blag's out-of-print novel. When it comes to merchandising, the Dwarves are at a Supersuckers level of shamelessness. But, records don't sell like they used to, so I don't fault bands for doing what they can. And the ticket prices for this show were completely reasonable, and so was the cost of the stuff they were selling, so there's nothing wrong with that.

American Friction, the opening band, came on around ten, so we didn't end up milling around for too long. They got right into it, playing a strangely stark kind of post-rock that I really liked. Not sure they were the perfect fit to open for the Dwarves, but I guess it worked to ease the already half-assing-out crowd into the night of speed-rock ahead.

As is the case at every show I go to lately, there was a hammered 55+-year-old lady dancing around by herself. She looked like someone's mom; possibly someone's grandma. My friend said to me, "I have a bad feeling we're going to see that lady's tits before the night is over." And, we did. I'll get to that.

Zeke were up next, which shouldn't be surprising to anyone, because when it comes to bands that I never intend to see but end up seeing all the time, they're at the top of the list. Their bass player couldn't find a cable to plug in with, so there was a short lull while he tried to locate one. A piss-drunk girl near the front of the stage took this as a sign that she should entertain the crowd with edgy comedy, so she hopped up there, grabbed the mic, and started in: "A white guy, an oriental, and a black rapper..." Needless to say, she did not have the audience in the palm of her hand, and her material did not "kill." She would later be ejected for trying to do it again before the Dwarves came out.
I'm not a fan of Zeke, but there is some fun to be found in watching them play ridiculously fast for 45 minutes straight. Their drummer looks like he's in pain during most of it, and during the breaks he just flips off the crowd and insults his fellow band members. So, you know, there's something for everybody.

After what felt like a little too long of a break, the Dwarves finally emerged, walking out to the "Mighty Mouse" theme and all wearing masks because, you know, it's getting close to Halloween. One thing became very clear once they had taken their places on stage: guitarist Hewhocannotbenamed was not with them. It never even occurred to me that he wouldn't be touring with them, but I've since looked it up and apparently he hasn't been playing live with them for a while now. So, that was a bummer, and instantly made me feel like I wasn't getting the true Dwarves experience. But, they tore into "Dominator," and it was pretty sweet, so I chose to enjoy it and not dwell on the conspicuous lack of spazzy dong-flappery taking place on stage.

Speaking of flappy appendages, about five songs into the Dwarves' set, Blag announced that there was a topless girl near the front of the stage, and when we looked toward where he was pointing, there she was: the grandma lady, pressed against the front of the stage, completely shirtless, with her purse still strung over her shoulder. It was initially hilarious, then unfortunate, and ultimately depressing.

The members of the band all eventually lost their masks and tore through a ton of songs from all over their catalog, during what was probably a 45-minute set. Then they left the stage and didn't play an encore. To be fair to them, I'm not sure if it was their call or the decision of the sound guy, because he was pretty quick to jump up on stage and start shutting off amps right before he turned the house music back on.

But either way: kind of lame. So, between that and the lack of Hewho, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I did get an import 10" of theirs on red vinyl that I had been looking for, though, so that was cool. Still, it wasn't quite the show I had hoped for. There was only one small scuffle, Blag's stage-diving seemed perfunctory, and there was no male nudity. This was not the Dwarves I had been promised.

In protest, I did not buy a Dwarves belt buckle. That'll show 'em!

I Went to a Show: Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks at the Crystal Ballroom (October 13, 2011)

I haven't gone to a show by myself in a long time, but apparently Malkmus on a Thursday night is a tough sell. So, I rolled solo to the Crystal Ballroom, and after waiting in line for a half hour to get my will call tickets (?) I climbed the stairs and found a nice spot in the all-ages section, right next to a couple that looked roughly my age and their son who looked to be about nine. Yes, us Gen-Xer's are getting old. But we're still out on the town, making it happen!

Much like my recent expedition to see the Supersuckers, I somehow managed to completely miss the opening act, so when I got there, the crew was setting up for The Jicks. They came out about 20 minutes later, said some quick hellos (this was Malkmus' return to Portland after having moved to Berlin a little over a month ago), and then launched into "Jenny and the Ess-Dog." Boom.

After that it was pretty much wall-to-wall Mirror Traffic jams for the majority of the show, but I was fine with that. Malkmus is one of those dudes who always seems to be most interested in the stuff he recently wrote and recorded (one more reason the Pavement reunion was a big surprise), which makes sense, so it's nice to see he and the band do the new shit that they're still excited about. Plus, the songs on the new record are fantastic, so I was more than happy to see them play that stuff.

In true Malkmus fashion, "Senator," the band's most recent single - the video for which was released the morning after the show - didn't make the setlist cut, because, you know, that would make too much sense. I thought that was pretty funny.

So, yeah, they played a lot of the new songs, and at least two new songs that are so new they aren't even out yet: one of 'em was "Surreal Teenagers," which they played as a web exclusive for Jimmy Fallon recently. They also played Neil Young's "Mr. Soul" (I did not recognize that one, but have since figured out what it was), and a raaaaandom cover of the Sweet's "Love is Like Oxygen," which Malkmus was snickering through, but you could tell he secretly enjoyed the shit out of it.

The weirdest moment of the night was their performance of "Real Emotional Trash," which started out fairly standard, and then spiraled into an all-over-the-place jam that found the band looking at Malkmus, trying to figure out what the hell he was doing, and attempting to follow. If you know the song, you know it's long to begin with, and has a bunch of different parts. This time they just did the first few verses, went into the jam part, and never came back out. They rattled around for what felt like 15 minutes, and eventually it sputtered out. I really like the mid-section vamp in that song, so I was a bit bummed to have that excised, but whatever.

They also did "Baby C'mon," either as the last song or part of the encore. A random smattering of songs as always, but a strong bunch. Malkmus was freewheelin' on the guitar all night, and it was damn fun to watch. Dude's got some fancy fingerwork.

Not a bad way to spend an evening out on the town by yourself.

I Went to a Show: Supersuckers at the Hawthorne Theatre (October 2, 2011)

Sunday night with the Supersuckers. I'm sure I've spent a Sunday with the 'Suckers before, but I can't remember when.

Because I don't go to many Sunday night shows, I failed to take into account that the gig would be starting early, so my friend and I arrived at 10, which meant we missed both opening bands and got there about five minutes before Eddie and the boys took the stage. That was fine, but it was $15 to get in, and I kind of wished we would have caught one more of the acts to get our money's worth. But, whatever. At least we didn't miss any of the band we were there to see.

My pal hadn't seen the Supersuckers in years, so he was a great candidate for seeing their show. He knows most of their catalog, doesn't know what to expect, and is happy that the band is still doing it at all. Me? I'm happy they're still doing it, but their shows have been semi-predictable for years, so I don't go into 'em anymore expecting to be surprised by any of the material they whip out. There's always that random show where they play that random song, but for the most part, they stick to the tried-and-true numbers that the fans expect. I could complain about that forever, but I've made my peace with it: I know what I'm going to get when I go to a Supersuckers show, and I just sit back and enjoy it. If they play something that I didn't think I'd hear that night, it's a treat. If not, I at least get to watch Dan Bolton be awesome.

They didn't wow us with any deep cuts on Sunday night, but they did play three or four new songs, so that was something. I'm not going to pass judgment on them until I hear the album versions, but my initial take is that they sound a lot like the stuff from the last record, so you can take that as you like. Speaking of their new stuff, Eddie said they're finishing up their new record, and it should be out next year. We shall see.

This show was the third or fourth in what is to be a massive tour, and maybe they were just getting warmed up, but they didn't seem crazy-excited to be there. It wasn't the most packed gig, so maybe that was part of it. I don't know. It wasn't a bad show; just a standard one, I guess.

But I had a good time, as I always do. Bolton looks like he's trimmed up a little bit, and his guitar work was on point. And like I said earlier, I'm always down to watch The Steak wreak havoc on his Gold Top.

They're coming back to Portland for New Year's Eve, so it looks like I'll once again be ringing in the new year with the Supersuckers. And Reverend Horton Heat, apparently. My wife couldn't be happier.

I'm going to at least two more shows this month, so I'll be reporting on those soon. Stay tuned.

I Went to a Show: Thurston Moore at the Aladdin (July 23, 2011)

I never win anything.

It's not I like I enter a ton of contests, but I don't usually win the ones I do enter. So, when I signed up for a Facebook-advertised Music Millennium email drawing to win two tickets to the upcoming Thurston Moore show, I completely forgot about it ten minutes after I submitted my name. When I heard back from them a few days later, I was surprised. And happy. They told me I had won the tickets, and that I could come pick them up whenever.

I really wanted to go to this show, but springing for admission wasn't really in the budget this month, so the on-the-house tix certainly hit the spot. My wife was out of town (and she's neither an SY or Thurston solo fan - at all), so I called up my man Nate and we hit the show.

We missed the opening band, but the middle, pre-Thurston act was Kurt Vile, who I've heard a little bit of online. Didn't really think it was going to be my sort of thing, and it wasn't. Not bad at all, just not the sort of stuff I would get into. Acoustic/electric mix, sort of psych-folk-y, and static vocals that never really moved. A lot of people seemed like they were there to see him, though, so somebody's clearly digging it.

Thurston came out after a short break, and had the venue pull down their big-ass movie screen. He was on acoustic guitar, and was joined by another dude on acoustic, a guy on drums, a girl on a full-size harp (!), and a girl on violin. This is more or less the setup he used during the recording of his most recent album, Demolished Thoughts, and it confirmed what I had suspected going into the evening: this was going to be a set heavy on the new stuff.

And it was, but not exclusively. I think he may have played every song from Demolished Thoughts, but he also worked "Frozen GTR" and "Fri/End" from 2007's Trees Outside the Academy into the set, which was cool.

But, this was really about his new record, and the songs came across great live. The production on the record threw me off at first, but the more I've listened to it, the more I'm starting to really enjoy it, even though the rough edges I've come to expect from Thurston aren't there. He wrenched out a few semi-extended jam-hammers at this gig, but the only feedback was unintentional. The band sounded great, and though there was one minor technical issue that stopped "Frozen GTR" mid-song, the rest of the night played out as well-rehearsed and spot-on. (Even if Thurston did have lyric sheets in front of him on a stand.)

Thurston started the show by reading a poem (that I've since discovered is included in the liner notes of the new record), and then the band kicked in. After a few songs, he turned on the projector in front of him and played this trippy black-and-white movie that featured girls dancing around and playing a record with a knife. That played for the rest of the show, and it was appropriate accompaniment for the music.

At one point he said, "I asked the venue to turn off the air conditioning and seal all the windows," which was a sweet dig on how unbearably balmy it was in there. I was doing some serious sweating. He also mentioned, as he was trying to figure out which guitars he had on stage with him were which, that the whole "alternate tuning" thing sometimes give him "night terrors." Which made me laugh.

The encore went to throwback mode, which everyone was excited about, including me. They played two songs from 1995's Psychic Hearts: "Queen Bee and Her Pals" and the title track, which Thurston clearly had to read the lyrics for, but it was badass regardless.

I've been listening to Demolished Thoughts online for the past month or so, but at the show I picked up the sweet-ass 2-LP, gatefold, thick vinyl version that not only has artwork exclusive to the LP version, but also comes with the CD booklet. Dude knows how to release his shit on vinyl.

Also: I apparently bumped into Kim Gordon in the lobby, but didn't see her. My pal told me this. I'm an oblivious idiot. Also also: Malkmus was in the house, making the scene.

Sorry this is somewhat scattered. I'm out of practice.

I Went to a Show: Eddie Spaghetti at Music Millennium and Devils Point (Apr. 22, 2011)

A double dose of Eddie Spaghetti? What a way to spend a Friday evening with my lady, who got dragged along to all this nonsense. But, she's a good sport, and she's been subjected to enough of this dude to be familiar with his catalog (or at least all the songs that he always plays live), so I figure that some of her crippling boredom is alleviated by the comforting familiarity of it all. Right? Isn't that how it works?

I found out about the Eddie Spaghetti show at Devils Point a few months ago, and I've had that shit marked on my calendar since then. But the Music Millennium performance? That was a last-minute surprise. In fact, I wouldn't even have known about it if I didn't follow the ol' Millennium on Twitter, where they announced it a few days before. I usually get my Eddie info from the Supersuckers chain of internet promotion, but their site is getting revamped and emails from them have been more sporadic than usual. Not sure what's up there. But it matters not: I found out about the pre-show in-store and, along with about twelve other Eddie Spaghetti faithfuls, watched Eddie and "Metal" Marty Chandler run through five or six songs from the hallowed Millennium balcony. They sounded pretty good, and after their truncated-because-of-low-attendance (I'm assuming) set, they offered to put anyone who bought the new LP (Sundowner) on the guest list for the show at Devils Point that night.

Turns out that was a pretty sweet deal, because admission to the show was ten bucks, and that record is awesome. So it was a win-win for people unlike me who already bought the album when it came out because they're a real fan. But, you know, that's neither here nor there.

Devils Point (yes, apparently there is no apostrophe in the name) is a strip club, and one that seems to cater to a dirty rock sort of crowd. I used to spend time in joints like that years ago, but it had been a while since I'd been in one. I half-assumed there'd be dancers doing their thing while the bands were playing, but that was before I found out how tiny the place is. There's one stage, a handful of tables, and some pockets of standing room in the section where the stage is. The place was packed, and even though the space is small, there were a good amount of people there.

After a few opening acts that fit the outlaw-dude-with-an-acoustic-guitar vibe of the evening, Eddie and Marty hit the stage to raucous applause. (Eddie looked relieved to be getting up to play. The wife and I had a seat back by his merch table where he was hanging out, and we watched this drunk dude who kept telling anyone who would listen that he and Eddie "go way back" talking loudly in his face for at least an hour. It was awkward.) It was pushing 11, and the crowd of surly dudes and their dragged-along ladies were pretty hosed.

Depending on who you were, this either made for a great show or a kind-of annoying one. But, this is the deal with Eddie Spaghetti/Supersuckers shows, so I shan't bitch about it. The only part that sucks is that Eddie's solo gigs are usually all-requests, so the dude who screams the loudest often gets to pick the song. And, because I'm a snob/cool guy, I never yell anything and then am disappointed when he ends up playing what I consider the most obvious of tracks. But, that's my cross to bear, and it's an admittedly pathetic one. Still, it's applicable here, because the drunk dudes were yelling the same ol' song titles, and the set ended up consisting of a lot of the same tunes that Eddie always plays. Guess I can't fault him for giving the people what they want.

The ten-minute version of "Killer Weed" aside (ugh), this ended up being a peppy show in a weird-ass venue, and one that I'm glad I went to. The attempted rousing finale of "Born With a Tail" didn't have nearly the same effect as it does when played with a full band, but I suspect that some folks aren't happy unless their middle fingers are in the air at the end of the night. Fair enough.

Speaking of the end of the night: Eddie's set got cut slightly short because the strippers were lined up and ready to dance at midnight. It was hilarious and sad and my wife wouldn't let me stay and watch any of them. Damn.

Guest Post - I Went to a Show: Eddie Spaghetti at The Club Congress in Tucson (Mar. 11, 2011)

(Ed. note: This is Stallion Alert's first-ever guest post, provided by my brother/frequent commenter, Pocaroba. I sent him out on assignment, and hot damn: he delivered. My thanks to him, and I hope you nerds enjoy his Special Report, straight from Tucson, AZ, where they don't blink an eye at doing a patio show in March.)

I have been happily following the exploits of Eddie Spaghetti since I was a 13 year old who was obsessed with the NW music explosion that was happening around me in Oregon back in 1991. Back then he was the fearless leaders of the Supersuckers, the world's greatest rock n roll band (or whatever). Nowadays he seems to be splitting time between the Supersuckers and his more country-flavored solo work. It was this solo work that he brought to the Club Congress here in Tucson this past Friday night. I have been a fan of Spaghetti's for so long that he has entered into a rare stratosphere in my mind. Like Ice Cube or Mike Patton, Spaghetti will always be a supreme stallion to me, no matter what decisions he's made in his late career (like covering "Hey Ya"). Like the other aforementioned musicians, I'm just happy he's still making music. Now, to the show.

The wife and I arrived at about 6:45 in anticipation of the 7:00 start time. The Club Congress is an old hotel in downtown Tucson that has a stage, a couple restaurants and a patio area out back. Its claim to fame is that Dillinger hid out there at the height of his infamy. We sat in the outdoor portion of one of the restaurants since Eddie was going to be playing in the outdoor patio area. He was milling about and seemed to be catching up with old friends. I assumed this since Tucson is his hometown. The crowd seemed to be an odd mix. I was surprised by the sheer lack of fanboys. I only saw a couple of Supersucker shirts. A good portion of the crowd seemed to be in their late 40s-early 50s. There were parents there with their children, a small faction of buzzards, and some people that seemed to be there since they happened to be staying at the hotel. Altogether I would say that there were about 75 people there, not the crowd I was expecting for a free show in his hometown on a Friday. Whatever. I was still super stoked, especially when I realized that this was the first show I have been to in Tucson. It only took me four years.

As the night progressed it became apparent that the show was not going to start on time. After an hour and fifteen minutes, a couple of fancy cocktails (my Old Fashioned had a sphere of ice in it) Eddie finally took the "stage" at 8:00. He was accompanied by new Supersuckers guitarist "Metal" Marty Chandler and the duo kicked it off with some material from the new album. It sounded fine enough and made me feel better about my pre-arranged plan to buy his new vinyl. Eddie seemed in OK spirits but was not as chatty as I have seen him in the past and seemed to not really be all too thrilled to be in Tucson. The first non-solo song he played was "Roadworn and Weary," which he said his dad always tells him is the best song he's ever written. He also made sure to mention that his dad lived 20 minutes away but "I guess is too busy to come down and see his son play." Things like this and old cronies chatting him up earlier in the evening may have led to his less than outgoing attitude.

Later he played "Creepy Jackalope Eye," "Supersucker Drive-By Blues," and "Sail On," which he said was "the best divorce song that Nicole Richie's dad ever sang." So there you go. Later into the set he took a couple requests ("Sail On" was actually a request). I considered yelling out "17 Poles," my long-time favorite Supersuckers song, but resisted. I didn't think he would bust it out and besides, who am I to tell Eddie Spaghetti what to do? Literally five minutes after relaying this information to my wife he announced that he was going to play some Tucson-themed songs. He told the story behind "17 Poles," apparently past Houghton and 22nd Ave, and launched into 2 minutes of pure stallionism. I would kill for an acoustic version of that one. He then played "Going Back to Tucson," which if anything, must have been confusing for the less-knowledgeable members of the crowd. Here you are expecting a fun romp about partying in your home town and what you get is a depressing tune about "where it all went wrong." I dug it, though.

Close to the end he busted out perhaps my least favorite song of his, "Killer Weed" ("Breakin' Honey's Heart" gives it a run for it's money"). I have no problem with songs about weed (well okay, maybe I kind of do) but this tune has just never done it for me. He managed to get the crowd singing along which just further proves that I am in the minority when it comes to disliking cliched odes to weed. The night came to a close with the standard "Born With A Tail" closer. After four fancy cocktails (and some terrific fancy nachos) and an hour of Spaghetti, our evening out came to a close. I finished off the night by approaching the merch table, cash in hand, where the man himself was manning the table. He brought a dude with him who was selling stuff during the show but apparently he bailed the moment Eddie got done. Or something. Anyways, when we approached there was some lady talking to him, showing him texts or something on her phone, and all we heard him say was "it's water under the bridge." He looked clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Things like that would make me not really want to play in my hometown, too. I have never spoken to Eddie before and was a little surprised at just how nervous I got at the last second. I ended up being reduced to a fawning fanboy. As I was buying the record and a shirt with his face on it all I could get out was "17 Poles is like, my favorite song of yours. I'm like, so excited that you played it. Thank you for coming." And then I quickly retreated, ashamed at my lameness. The woman had not warmed him up and he was cordial but didn't really seem into talking. So yeah, I wimped out. Did I get a picture of me with him? An autograph? Of course not. That would have made too much sense.

All in all, it was a super fun night. It was solid mix of new songs and old and it was cool to see him in such a different environment, acoustic outside of a restaurant instead of all amped-up on a stage in a crowded club. I realized it was my wife's first time seeing him live when she asked questions like, "Why is he wearing his sunglasses at night?" and "What's up with the cha cha cha thing?" That's just part of the show, girl. Go with it.

I Went to a Show: Busdriver and Dark Time Sunshine at Someday Lounge (Feb. 11, 2011)

Busdriver has turned into one of the only artists that will get me to drag my old-man ass out on a Friday night to see a show, and that's because I know I'm going to enjoy it. He's full of energy, doesn't chit-chat too much, and just plays the shit out of his music. I am a staunch proponent of all of those things.

This show was even more exciting for me because I was, against all odds, actually looking forward to seeing one of the opening groups. I got turned onto Dark Time Sunshine earlier this year, and found myself coming back to their album Vessel quite a bit. So, I was really looking forward to seeing how they would pull off that shadowy-ass sound live.

I got to the show at around 10:45 (there were two, maybe three other openers who I wasn't dying to see), and caught most of the guy-before-Darktime's set. It wasn't really my thing, but it gave me a chance to meet up with my friend who was there and say hi to some other people that I knew. There was a good crowd at the Someday, though it seemed to be biggest when I first got there. Weird.

Anyway, Dark Time Sunshine (Onry Ozzborn and producer Zavala) hit the stage around 11:30 and I was ready for it. The music actually translated really well to a live setting, with Zavala working a drum machine, doing some backing vocals, and also just some random tinkering and knob-twiddling, all while bobbing his head and clearly having a good time. Ozzborn looked stoned to the bone, but his laid-back don't-give-a-fuckness is part of what makes the music so eerily hypnotic, so I thought it worked.

Here's a vid my friend Mike took:

Good stuff. They played a solid set, tossing in some Onry songs off his new record, along with a lot of the cuts from Vessel. I made sure to buy their CD after the show, because I had been listening to a "free" copy for a long time. So, that's me patting myself on the back and telling you how much I support artists. I'm welcome.

Busdriver came out pretty quick after that, and unlike the last time I saw him solo, he was all by himself. He had a small table with a few samplers on it, two microphones (one of which was hooked up to foot pedal thingy), and a couple other little boxes that he didn't seem to fiddle with. He also set up a green light at his feet, so for the first four or five songs of the set, he looked like this:

Pretty cool. Anyway, he did a few tracks off his latest mixtape, Computer Cooties, but other than that, it was the "hits": "Sunshowers," "Avantcore," "Casting Agents & Cowgirls," etc. He fucked with tempos and hammered on beats with the samplers, and jacked up his vocals with the footpedals hooked to the one mic. Made his set frantic as shit when coupled with the fact that he barely stopped moving, rapping, or beating on his machines. It was great.

He didn't play for too long (which is fine by me), came out for one short encore, and then left us with a beat that he "made in his bedroom the other day" as he walked off stage. Dude's a weirdo. But he puts on a great show.

I picked up the Hoofdriver 7" on yellow vinyl while I was there, and I have listened to it six times in the past few days. It is sweet.

If you haven't downloaded Computer Cooties you should cop that shizz.

I Went to a Show: Pond at Satyricon (October 23, 2010)

Dreams really do come true.

Pond, one of the most tragically underrated bands of the 90's (see my gushing here, here, and here) broke up 13 years ago, and since then, they've played one reunion show, which was at the Crystal Ballroom about five years ago. (It was a Portland 90's bash - the other bands on the bill were Crackerbash, Sprinkler, and Hazel.) We were shocked that they played that gig, and were positive it would be a one-time thing. It's not that their breakup seemed particularly acrimonious, or that they clearly had beef with each other, I just always got the vibe that the band was something that the individual members were looking to put behind them. The first reunion gig was brief shining light, and we bathed in it while we could.

It's a shame that it took Portland's legendary Satyricon club closing its doors forever to bring the band back from the dead one more time, and in a perfect world, that certainly wouldn't have been part of the deal. So, am I glad Satyricon is closing? Absolutely not. I've seen some really memorable shows there, and even played a few myself. I love(d) it there. Am I glad that Pond got back together for one more night? You have no idea. So, yes, the air was thick with bittersweetness that evening, but while the band played, it was nothing but goodness.

My brother was in town from AZ specifically to see the gig, so it felt like even more of an event to us. We got there promptly at 9, and the place was already packed. Thankfully I had will-called the shit out of some tickets, so we strolled right past the poor saps waiting for last-minute tix in the rain, and made our way inside. Good timing. Fellow old-school Portland sorta-weres M-99 opened the show about 10 minutes after we stepped inside. I'm not going to pretend like I'm familiar with any of their stuff. Never saw them back in the 90's. But they put on a fine show, and as the length of their set grew, it made me more and more hopeful that Pond would be allowed (and utilize) the same amount of time.

M-99 played for probably about an hour, and they were fun to take in. But we were antsy for the main attraction. When they finished up and Pond drummer Dave Triebwasser started setting up his drums, we were certifiably giddy. Triebwasser looks about the same as he did in the 90's, though he was peering out over some glasses, which made him look comically elderly. Good stuff. Charlie Campbell and Chris Brady followed, and they too have yet to be severely ravaged by age. Not that it would matter, but it's nice to see the Pond guys still looking spry. Anyway.They attempted to start the show by barreling into "Van," and that would have been super-sweet had Brady's bass not been cutting in and out. So, they had to start it over, and they eventually got through it, though it was a bit timid. Their second number was also hindered by minor technical glitches, but after that, they rolled hard into the old favorites and, for a band that's played twice live in the last 13 years, they sounded fantastic.

I'm terrible at remembering setlists, so I'm hoping some of my faithful readers can help me recreate it. Usually I nerd out and type it into my phone, but I could barely move. Snapping these shitty photos was dicey. This I do know: They played "Twins," "Spots," "Sideroad," "Young Splendor," "Glass Sparkles in Their Hair," "Spokes," "One Day in the Future," "Grinned," "Moth," and "Agatha." You guys will have to help me with the rest.

Everyone expected them to close with "Filler;" they did not. No one ever expected them to play "Moth;" they did. It's little things like that that make shows like doubly fun. You never know what the band's going to come out and do. I didn't expect to see Chris Brady taking pulls off a fifth of Jim Beam during the show, but there he was, chugging away. I didn't know that the Trieb drummed barefoot, until I saw him putting his shoes back on at the end of the set. What a Stallion.

I could have watched them all night. Unfortunately, they played for about 45 min. But it was a wonderful 45 min., and when they played "Agatha" and let all the fanboys sing the outro, it was a damn fine thing to be a part of. I'm really happy this show happened (again, wish it were under better circumstances), and I'm really happy I got to be a part of it.

And now I'm even more happy, because I just found this YouTube channel that has what seems to be video of the entire show. I love these times we live in. I guess that takes care of my setlist problem. Whatever.

We can discuss all this further in the comments. Let the praise begin.

Oh, here's the setlist dude has listed on his YouTube page:

Van
Sideroad
Perfect Four
Young Splendor
Grinned
Wheel
One Day In The Future
Twins
Spokes
Moth
Glass Sparkles In Their Hair
Agatha
Spots

Sound right?

I Went to a Show: Pavement at Edgefield (September 3, 2010)

I felt like I bought the tickets for this show ages ago, and waiting for it was becoming excruciating. But, I knew the payoff would be worth it, and damn: it was.

Not seeing Pavement in their heyday was always a huge regret of mine, and though I wasn't positive they wouldn't get back together, I wasn't holding my breath. So when they announced their reunion, I was excited. Then began the wait for an Oregon show. It took a while, but they got here. I was expecting more of a Crystal Ballroom-type affair, but the Edgefield it was. Your parents probably saw David Gray there a few nights ago. Anyway. I'll take Pavement wherever I can get 'em.

Turns out Edgefield wasn't a bad place to see a show (I had never been there for live music before). The 6:30 start time was a little confusing - I'm used to shows starting at 9:30, not ending - but once I got past that, I was good to go. I took a good friend and we got there around 6, found some sweet parking, and ponied up near the front of the stage before the show even got going. Boom.

Quasi opened, and when it comes to bands that I have unintentionally seen repeatedly, they are at the top of the list. Pretty sure this was the fifth time I've seen them, and yet I've never gone to a Quasi show to see Quasi. Whatever. They've got Joanna Bolme on bass now, and though it hasn't added some crazy new dynamic to the band, they do sound fuller, especially on the guitar songs. They played a nice short set (finishing up with the crowd-pleasing "You Fucked Yourself"), and made way for the dudes from Pavement. I was giddy.

Just a few days earlier, Pitchfork had named "Gold Soundz" the best track of the 90's, and whether that had anything to do with them opening it with it, I don't know. And I don't care. It ruled, and it kicked off a two-hour show that featured them playing songs from all over their catalog (check the setlist here), though they mostly favored earlier stuff. As a sad fanboy who loves all their records almost equally, there was no way they were going to leave me feeling gipped, so I just rolled with it. And it was sweet.

They even played "And Then," the early version of the "The Hexx," during their encore. If you know what that means than you know why that is awesome. I love the shit out of that song.

I could gush forever. But I won't. I'll just say that this show ruled. Because it did.

I Went to a Show: Busdriver and 6Blocc at Whiskey Bar (August 13, 2010)

What an odd night.

Though it had all the usual features of a typical hip hop show (endless opening groups, a "host," sporadic DJ sets), this turned out to be anything but. Yes, the posters advertised the show as "Busdriver & 6Blocc," but I just assumed that meant they were co-headliners. And when it said the show was going until 4AM, I just figured that meant the bar would be open that late (this is the former Ohm, after all). It was Friday the 13th, for what it's worth. So maybe that had something to do with it.

There were at least four opening acts, including Unified Theory, Elevated Entities (who announced that they are now just calling themselves "Elevated" - bold move), Midas Dutch, and Marv Ellis. They all had their own things going on, and I don't really feel like explaining any of it. Though two of the acts put thump beats over well-known 80's pop songs, which surpassed irony and went straight to laziness. So that was something, I guess.

Anyway, Busdriver finally came out around midnight, with 6Blocc in tow. 6Blocc, it turns out, is a DJ (like the kind who plays in "dance" clubs), though he looks more like a high school math teacher. Not that I give a shit about that - in fact it made me like him more - but it caught me off guard at first. They got things going quickly and forcefully, busting into a electro-bumpy beat that rumbled the whole place. People in front of me and my accompanying friend began dancing like I had never seen people dance before. (In person, at least.) Flailing arms, sweat flying - doing things that made me think they were trying to "feel" the music. I felt like I was in an episode of Law & Order, at a place where people do "designer drugs."

Anyway, the beat was kicking, I didn't recognize it, and Busdriver was jittering around and freestyling over it. Cool. Until a half-hour later, when I realized that was all that was going to happen. The DJ played his beats (which, though I'm not a fan of that kind of music, were quite good), and Busdriver improvised. The kids who were in their own little dance worlds loved it. Me? I wanted to hear dude play some of his songs, or at least kick some lyrics that weren't made up on the spot. Two hours later, I realized it really wasn't going to happen.

I never thought I'd leave a Busdriver show before it was over, but we did just that. It was 2AM, there seemed to be no end in sight, and we walked. I didn't have a bad time, but it wasn't what I had hoped for. And that's my fault: I should have done my research. And who are we kidding? I would have gone anyway. But the $15 ticket price left a sour taste in my mouth. Still, it was an experience. And I like those.

I Went to a Show: Best Kissers in the World at Dante's (July 31, 2010)

It's been a few months since I saw the Best Kissers play their warm-up show at Slabtown, and I was definitely looking forward to seeing them again. This gig was - from my understanding - to be their official "First Big Portland Reunion Show," and they were fresh from playing their "First Big Seattle Reunion Show" the night before.

The band was loose (read: a little tipsy), but it didn't prevent them from putting on a fine show for the devoted fans in attendance. (I was happy to see that this show was more well-attended than their previous one.) Gerald was in high spirits, clearly still amped up from playing the night before at the hallowed Tractor Tavern. He was definitely chatty, I'll say that. But when it came time to run through the tunes, he was all business. His voice was a little worse for wear, but he's still probably transitioning it into rock mode. He'll get there.

The setlist was different from the show at Slabtown, with the band both mixing up the order the songs were played and adding some new ones. (They were pressed for time at their last show, so I assume a few tunes may have been sacrificed at that gig.) They even added and actual brand-spanking-new song to close out the set. Because I am a nerd, I once again jotted the setlist down into my phone. Here's how it went:

"Melanie"
"Countin' Out Dexadrine"
"Worried About It"
"Hit Parader"
"Slightly Used"
"Roadside Attraction"
"Broke My Knee"
"?" (Still don't know what this one is - somebody help me out.)
"Royal Pain in the Ass"
"Lonely Enough to Lie"
"Smoke Rings"
"Bleeder"
"Miss Teen U.S.A"
"They Give Each Other Diseases"
"Pickin' Flowers For"
"Vicodine"
"Are You Happy Now?"

They continue to play a really cool mix of songs from all of their records, and I think it's great that they're playing a bunch of stuff from the legendarily-shelved Yellow Brick Roadkill. I was really excited to hear "They Give Each Other Diseases," because it's one of my favorite Kissers songs. And "Bleeder," too. That one didn't make it into the set last time.

Ah, but the most exciting thing about this show was the release of a new CD from the band. No new music, mind you, but a new compilation of most of their early stuff, titled Skinned My Heart, Broke My Knee.
The CD gathers together the "Take Me Home" 7", their five-song Sub Pop EP, the "Broke My Knee" 7", and one half of the "Ohio" 7" ("Sweet Pea" isn't on here for whatever reason - maybe because it's a cover?).

I was excited to finally have CD-quality versions of the songs that had only been previously released on vinyl, so I was a little disappointed to find that they were just rips of the records. (Took care of that myself a long time ago.) But for anybody who doesn't want to hunt this stuff down one-by-one, this is a great comp of the band's early work. I was most excited about the extensive liner notes on the inside written by Mr. Collier, which both give a little bit of history about the band, and individual breakdowns of the tracks on the Sub Pop EP. Not going to go into detail about that, because you should just buy this thing and read 'em for yourself. Though I'm not sure where you can do that yet...

Now the band needs to find a way to release Yellow Brick Roadkill. The world deserves to hear it. Though I do secretly enjoy being one of the few who owns a copy of the CD. And, you can find it if you poke around a bit on the internet. Which I normally don't condone, but you literally can't buy it, so I say check it out.

By the way, the band's new official site is here.

I Went to a Show: Henry Rollins at the Aladdin Theatre (May 29, 2010)

Great picture, huh? Well, at least you can tell I had a solid view. I think I was one of maybe five people who didn't have somebody sitting in front of them. I lucked out. The place was packed. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Through my sweet job, I was able to get the wife and I two free tickets to see Henry Rollins do his spoken word thingy on Saturday night. I saw Rollins Band play the Roseland back in in '97 (my friends and I taped their performance of "Starve" on SNL and became obsessed with it - we had to go), but I had never seen him speak in person. I used to watch his Talking from the Box VHS when I was a teenager and I have a few cassettes of his spoken word stuff (great for road trips), but I never took the plunge to see it in the flesh. I'm glad I did.

Before we got there, I was wondering out loud to my wife if he was going to say anything about the recent passing of Ronnie James Dio and Dennis Hopper. As we walked in and Dio was playing over the theatre speakers, I became fairly certain he'd be touching on Ronnie James, at least. (Rollins has always been an proud fan of Dio, so that's sort of why I was expecting it.) He said a little bit about Dio and explained that the music was a mix CD he had made of Dio's music. He then told a little story about Dennis Hopper and said a few nice things about him. A cool move, I thought.

Then he dove into his material, and once he got going, he didn't stop. Apparently he had me locked in, because he spoke for almost three hours and it felt like about one. Trying to go over all the stuff he talked about wouldn't do it justice, but needless to say, it was awesome. I didn't see him take a drink of water until the whole thing was done. Yes, he remains a lunatic, the only guy who can make a spoken word engagement an intense endurance ritual for himself. And I loved every minute of it.

I'm definitely seeing him the next time he's in town, even if I have to pay for it. Certainly a unique experience, and a good one for us aging rockers who like to sit down for their entertainment.

I Went to a Show: Best Kissers in the World at Slabtown (May 21, 2010)

Best Kissers in the World were a band that had come and gone. I had accepted that. I never saw them in the 90's, and I missed my chance. This upset me, because I love the band's music, and it wasn't even like I got into them too late. I bought their first Sub Pop EP and loved the shit out of it. Still: never got to see them live, and the idea of a Best Kissers reunion seemed highly unlikely.

Well, dreams do come true, my friends. The band is back together, and I was lucky enough to see their very first reunion set at Slabtown on Friday night. They didn't go on until almost 1:30, playing last on a four-band bill, and it made for a long evening as the wife and I got there around 9:30 because we wanted to see the opening band (Stan McMahon Band playing as a rare power trio). Of course, they didn't go on until 10:30, and then we had to sit through two other bands who weren't really our thing. (Stan was awesome as usual.)

So, yes, it was late by the time the Kissers finally took the stage. I'm not gonna lie: there weren't a ton of people there. But the people who stuck around were there to see the band, and they knew it. The group seemed really excited to be there, and the show did not disappoint. In fact, it was better than I thought it would be, and I was planning on it being really good.

Best Kissers always had a rotating lineup of band members, with Gerald Collier being the only one who was always there. Still, it's worth mentioning that this incarnation of the band does not have any original members except Gerald. While I usually poo-poo things like this, I don't really care in this situation. (To be honest, I never really knew who any of the dudes in the band were except for Gerald, with the exception of Danny Bland, but that's just because he used to be connected to the Supersuckers.) Here's an explanation I found online from the new bass player:

It's a new Portland-based lineup. Gerald got permission from previous members (now spread about the country with families, careers, etc.) to put it back together with local friends. Lineup is:

Gerald Collier - Lead vocals and guitar
Mark Kent - Lead guitar and backing vocals
Andy Nelsen (me) - Bass and backing vocals
Kevin Byers - Drums

Mark is a Portland boy who has been playing in original bands in PDX for 20+ years. Kevin and I played in a band called Capsule based in San Francisco in the '90s and we were also the original rhythm section for the Mother Truckers, who are alive and well in Austin.

Anybody who follows the band knows that there have been quite a few players over the years and that Gerald is the only constant, but we are all big fans and we love playing together (Kev and I have been playing together for 15+ years), so we are stoked to be playing with Gerald, especially songs we've enjoyed from the outside over the years and the potential we see in future writing.

It's all about rock and roll. If that's cheezy then I'm cheezy. We love to play and we're playing what we love, and that is the extent of the game plan at this point!

So far we have Slabtown on May 21, Tractor Tavern in Seattle on July 30, and Dante's on July 31 with a few other unconfirmed dates we're working on.

So, that's the deal with that. The guitar player could have fooled me. Dude was a beast, and had the solos down, note-for-note. And the rest of the band sounded great, as well. There were a few hiccups here and there, but they were minor. For a first show, it was fantastic.

Because I am a nerd, I kept track of the setlist. Here it is.

"Slightly Used"
"Countin' Out Dexedrine"
"Hit Parader"
"Melanie"
"Lonely Enough to Lie"
"Worried About It"
"Broke My Knee"
"Smoke Rings"
"Miss Teen U.S.A."
"Roadside Attraction"
New Song ("Thank You"?)
New Song ("C'mon"?)
"Vicodine"
"Pickin' Flowers For"

Not sure about those new ones.

That's the best picture I got up there, because my phone has no flash. Better one here that's not mine, and more on BKITW's FB page.

They're playing again in July. I'll be there.