Three Little Words

Turns out that there are three little words that indicate to me that it's going to be a truly ass-kicking show. Low side project.

But I'll start at the beginning. I...you know. Missed the opening band. As always. The Valiant Arms. I'm pretty sure I've missed seeing every band ever that has 'Arms' in the name. There's like a dozen of them.

The Obits followed. I had read the little blurb about the show that gets e-mailed out by the Doug Fir. Something about Pavement-esque garage rock. This show, if nothing else, demonstrated just how lazy it is to call anything with a garage rock element 'Pavement-esque'. Because they were nothing like Pavement. Pavement, god love 'em, rocked the wide-eyed indie-dork punk. The Obits, while probably technically garage rock, were totally late-'70s New York London-influenced (but also, though in that era I'm sure they'd rather die than admit it, also influenced by the Stones and Zeppelin) garage-proto-punk with some west-coast elements. I didn't so much listen to them as just end up infused by them. The rhythm-section barrage was as good as a massage. I wouldn't rush out to buy a CD, but the show itself was killer.

Then Retribution Gospel Choir. A side project of Alan Sparhawk from Low. Where the fuck does this guy get the energy and intensity? I almost felt sorry for Mimi, having to live with that, until he pulled off an astounding guitar solo played with his mouth. Then I was a bit jealous of her. It was...shit, I dunno. It was indescribable. Perhaps the best show I've seen all year. Perhaps the best show I've seen ever. Without question the best show I've seen without knowing a single song when I showed up. Incredibly intense and rocking, ranging from The Cars to some elements of Low (of course) to two songs that seemed totally like Kid Dakota (he's played with Low before) to a U2 guitar bit to...shit. I can't even...there are no words. Seriously, OMS is left without words to describe it. Raise your hand if you've seen me speechless before. Anyone?

But the best lyrics ever: "Everyone loves power, and everyone loves cake..."

I've seen a bunch of other shows I haven't had a chance to review yet, too. I feel like I'm missing several shows before this, but I simply can't remember. So I'll start with The Reverend Horton Heat at Wonder Ballroom. Went mostly because someone said, "hey, wanna go?" And if I don't answer at least 42% of questions with "why the hell not?" I feel like I'm missing a vital nutrient in my diet. Missed Supersuckers opening. A name I've heard, they've been around for years, but I don't know their stuff. Still don't. Followed by Nashville Pussy. Just...ick. Southern-rock/metal with nary a whiff of irony. Damnit, where's my irony? Ugly, loud, and vulgar. The Reverend Horton Heat was a ton of fun, surf-punk-rocka-punkabilly in varying degrees plus a totally unwarranted (and awesome as all hell) Nirvana cover. But...ugh, the crowd. Ugly. Physically ugly, behaviorally ugly...just ugly. And it was a 100-degree day with weak air conditioning.

The Maybe Happening, Candle, and Swim Swam Swum at the Doug Fir. Swim Swam Swum is one of those bands where I know the name, and know the music, and always fail to put the two together. Shining bouncy screamy cute punk-pop. I love it. Except that...oh dear, that's Nice Girl Guy on drums, isn't it? A sparsely attended show in a tiny room with nowhere to hide...I was resigned to being called a nice girl...and he never meets nice girls. But no! Either he's realized I'm not a nice girl (and was never nice to him, for certain), has realized that 'nice girls' aren't all that interesting, or has been shot down enough times he's finally decided not to try again. Did I see Candle? I don't remember. Maybe they were the opening-band-I-never-see. Maybe I just don't remember them (it was about a month ago...). And then The Maybe Happening. I've described them before, but they just keep getting better. And every damn time I see them, I develop a little bit of a crush on Nathan. It's not that he's attractive. I just can't help but look at him and think, "damn, imagine what he could do with all that energy..."

On the 4th of July, at the Doug Fir, I saw...well, there was an Opening Band (so you know how that went), then Fernando. Described as up-and-coming, someone who's garnered some important attention...seriously? They sounded like (and mostly looked like) a crappy suburban bar-band playing the far-flung "jazz-blues" club filled with baby boomers, who are really a cover band. Does someone like them because the lead singer sings in Spanish, which is exotic? I don't get it. At least they didn't cover Mustang Sally. And then Nick Jaina. He started with a bunch of newer stuff that isn't on released discs, and it was mostly low-key. It felt like Fernando had robbed them of their energy, or perhaps their relevance. But then things began to pick up. Nathan got down into the small crowd and talked individual people into singing along. They played Burning House. They played Fruit On The Vine. They got playful, fun, and a bit wild. It ended well. But Nick claimed they had to get up the next day to record live, so no encore. Sad.

I'm sure there are several shows I've forgotten to mention, and I can only hope that in forgetting, my joy (or my cynicism, or whatever) has left me, only to become a part of the ether, the collective unconscious. So if I no longer remember, you can tell me about it later.