Well, that was quite a time. You couldn't find two more opposite shows. I had more trouble with my gear in Columbus than at any show in my lifetime. I determined the following day that there were several parallel problems, so no wonder I was totally flummoxed. But hey, when we were capable of creating sound, it was really good! The tension and frustration made the playing more vicious to be sure.
Thankfully there wasn't a camera at the back of the stage to document me totally losing my shit: "what the fuck is going on? I can't believe this shit. Goddamnit. I'm never doing this again" etc etc. After a while it started to seem completely absurd and I wondered if we were stuck in some Andy Kaufman bit. Shining Clock, with some Greenhorn and Gaunt refugees, were quite good, I was especially struck by Nick S' singing - he has a good voice, sense of melody/cadence. They rocked and seemed to have some good songs. I did a fun interview with Next Best Records' Ron Wadlinger for the Agit Reader after the show, I'll post a link when it goes up, along with pointers to some of the other pieces now online.
Cleveland went off like a charm in comparison. We did a great "Year of the Donk" - there are bits that are different every time, especially the intro, and we went to some places we hadn't been before with it. There is audio, but I haven't heard it yet. I might post some mp3s if the mix is ok. No technical difficulties beyond the ass pain of having songs in multiple tunings, some of them a bit extreme. Short of owning 5 or 6 guitars or having a full-time guitar tech there's not much way around it. I've used odd tunings off and on since Spike in Vain days, but there are definitely more of them on the new album than back when.
It was great to see Short Rabbits, Charlie Ditteaux's (Impalers, Easter Monkeys, Knifedance) new 3 piece with This Moment in Black History's Buddy Akita and his groovy drummer extraordinaire wife Christina. They've just released a 9 song 12" on My Mind's Eye that is full of Cle style punk rock goodness, real sound to it also. I'm not seeing it on the web yet in a quick google search, but plan to pick up a few to sell on the Scat site. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned up at S-S, either.
John Petkovic kindly emailed me some pics:
Myself, Patrick and "utility infielder" Joe Thebeau.
23 September 2008
last weekend
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4 comments:
I hope that's 35% and rising! As much as I'd love to join in either Chicago or St. Louis, it just ain't gonna happen, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for NYC. I can promise you five people at least!
I spoke too soon, it's not unlikely.
...and for the record (quite literally when it comes to posting on the internets), Christina, drummer for Short Rabbits, put on a freakin' clinic!!!!
They are a must see, but feel free to keep your eyes on her sticks-a-blazin' the whole set while listening to the band as a whole with you ear parts.
Hey guys, Tom from Minneapolis here, who hung out with you 15 years ago. Dirty Moons is so fucking good I've had it in the CD player of my truck since the day it came out and haven't gotten sick of it yet. It's so good I don't even want to listen to your old stuff anymore.
I wanted to catch one of your shows but I'm in an iron lung-- actually I'm taking weekend law school classes and if I miss one class I get kicked out. I almost considered just saying fuck it and driving to Chicago the other weekend. You better play again soon, I'll make the trip.
This video of "I Will Comment" makes me want to go on a killing spree. I happen to be in the middle of a divorce and Dirty Moons has helped me make my decision to get rid of the fucking bitch.
Thanks so much, fuck I'm 38 now and there's a new Prisonshake album. Life is good.
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