Sunday, February 6, 2011

time baby

another brilliant nite in austin that deserves a write. saw two ends of the ATX spectrum, highlighted by the simple notion that gettin across the entertainment district should always be quick and free *just say NO to night time parking meters!!
so went to beerland w/ GFace to see Black Gum. was oh so pleasantly surprised.(well the rough tracks i'd heard had me excited so perhaps surprised isn't the best word. who cares) Nonetheless, Badger on the drums, Travis on guitar and IDK who on bass..it was on LD for sure! sloppy muddled vocals, jangly guitar, drum lady totally TCBing mad style, a song named "the longest two minutes of your life" ..played with a Harlem/woven bones asthetic..it was amazing..it belonged in the matador Casual Victim Pile. One song, introduced as "we're gonna sing about the beach!" made my receptors go in high gear happy. Saw some really old faces (srsly considered before going that i may be the only person over 30 in the venue..NOT TRUE) and was happy that the same Austintes AKA ex models, ppl at afterparties of the olden years, ex/semi musicians were in attendance. Beerland will always be hip apparently because that's where everyone starts, and everyone stays, if that makes sense. reminisced about the too many times i'd played on that same stage and how FUCKING LOUD the stage monitors were, how shit wasn't heard at all in the crowd.. esp regarding vocals. always wondering how it sounded after playing... I didn't miss This Microwave World oddly enough, it was a run that raced like many an austin band..it was in a happy sort of memory zone i fell into..for a brief moment...i wish i coulda stayed for Soft Healer but made my way across town to see Frank Smith. I tell you, i've been waiting for the new 2011 Frank Smith song births..and sure enough 2 new songs were delivered. Evolved and raw, harder and with even more strut and swagger. jaw dropped. small splices of noisy Spiritualized feedback, a hint of CCR, and vocalist Aaron sinclair had thoughts of Kurt Cobain yelling as he did on "Drain You". I'm not even sure this can be conceptualized for a bluesy americana band, and it may not seem appropriate. but seriously, a whole new level was achieved. it. was. intense. best live so far by the FS.
Last nite dream of seeing Wild Nothing was realized. Saw with K-Spot and new fan Jeannettieo. the set was eternally perfect in every way. the band was gracious and i got the feeling they weren't expecting to play for a packed ass room. as i fan, an admirer, i think " how the fuck could they not realize it?", but honest to GOD they seemed humble and surprised. Abe Vigoda pretty much rocked it after a few songs and some sound board realizations. Just a few adjustments were made and the sound was grand. Props to the keyboardist/guitarist. unprops for the crowd not allowing me to see WTF kind of synth he was playing. Wah, wah.
Kspot and i both came to the oddest conclusion: this band Abe Vigoda rules but singer sounds like dude from the bravery (or the futureheads/kaiser chiefs/whoeverthefuckelse was buzzband at the time during SXSW ..um...06 perhaps??) either way couple the bands and above and beyond the best show i've seen at Red 7 inside.
in other news, i have a DJ gig in a few weeks. Its been since november and that was a wedding. i wonder WTF to play. i wonder if Traktor still works. I wonder how the skipped AP at danny's is going. I wonder where all the hot Brazilians were tonite since it was Carnival.. oh wait, perhaps they were AT carnival festivities ') oh well..
things are still grand when you let them be. even when you venture back to past stomping grounds you thought were not welcoming or welcomed for that matter. There's no place like home.

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