The Rock Report

Last night: Rock show! Mike and Molly’s. It was a great and rocking show. Unfortunately, I’m one of about five people who know that.

I was pretty tired and pretty comfortable on my couch early in the evening, and seriously debated not going out. In the end, though, my inner rocker thrashed my inner lazyass and I headed out into the floody, floody night. I’m glad I did. The first band, Emperor X, was playing when I got there. Walking down the street outside I couldn’t tell if it was a live band or a deejay; that’s generally a pretty good sign, I reckon. I went in, paid my four bucks, and headed upstairs to find the handful of other people who made the trip out. The band itself was good, and charming, and short, except for the one guy who was not short. Hard to tell, though, as he was sitting at the drumkit, wearing an awesome Karate Kid-style rising sun headkerchief.

They reconfigured, adding a tiny tiny keyboard on a fullsize keyboard stand. How can you not love that? The drummer moved to keyboard, and the . . . I think it was the bass player sat at the kit to play his guitar. Standing is just so wearisome. I don’t mean to mock, though—they really were quite good. They made a futile announcement that they had wares for sale, and an even more futile announcement that they needed a place to stay. The crowd laughed. The band noted that’s never good: “ha ha! You guys are sleeping in your car tonight!” Poor guys.

I’m trying to figure out how I can tell you news and gossip so you’ll know who I’m talking about without splattering people’s names all over the World Wide Web. I ain’t in this for the libel convictions! I’ll just have a whack at it, and you can email me if you don’t know what I’m talking about.

Our friend at the Planet was there, with a couple of his newfound buddies (one of whom appears to be his girlfriend?) Hanging out with the younger crowd appears to be working well for him—he gets to be all Man About Town for them, with the lowdown on the downtown. I could say more. I won’t.

Second band up: V9R9D. I had forgotten exactly which band this was until the got up there and then I remembered the AWESOMENESS of the V9R9D. Yiyiyi. I always feel so lucky when I go to a show expecting something okay and get something superfantastico instead. It’s just so nice to see people who enjoy what they’re doing, and are really, really proficient at it. (I hate to use the word “proficient”—it seems so much like “workmanlike”—but you know what I mean. They can play their instruments.) Isn’t it strange and weirdly delightful how two players sound like such a big band?

The band, mightyfine; the audience, mightysmall. Seriously, we could have fit into a VW van. At the crowd-control apex, there were 11 people up there not playing, and that included the three guys from the first band, Bob the Soundguy, and Dave the Booker. I tried to look like more people by standing in front of the post and shifting about. The drummer broke a stick early in, and it went ricocheting off like a broken bat. At some point, and I’m not sure how, he dropped a stick into a glass of water without knocking it over, which—when he found it—noticeably delighted him. Very charming. Very rocking. All around excellent.

I talked to them briefly after the set, and they said to tell you hey. Mark (drums) is moving to New York; Alex gave him your contact info, so you might hear from him. Jeremy (bass) is staying in the twin cities for now.

The last band was a local one I’d never heard before. They were alright. They probably actually weren’t that bad, but they were a rather pop band, very “doo doo doo” oriented, and coming after the all out rockingness of V9etc., it just sounded a bit too light and twee. And basic. And they featured a young woman who played bells on a stick A LOT. That’s an instrument that really needs to be used in moderation. I don’t know why, but they struck me like a band you’d see in a sketch on Saturday Night Live. Consequently, I kept casting the band. That’s Will Ferrell on guitar, Amy Poehler there on bells-on-stick, Seth Meyer on bass, and probably the special guest—Ashton Kutcher, maybe—on drums.

Dave was decidedly not enjoying the limited crowd. I pulled my best Amalier, to cheer him up, but he wasn’t having it. (He totally called me out on, actually—“You’re being just like Amalier! And it won’t work!) He left for a while. It was a rough weekend—Ebertfest, Artist against Aids was having it’s big opening, And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead was playing at the Canopy, plus rainy rainy rainy. At the same time, there were quite a number of people downstairs who just wouldn’t pay the four bucks to go up, and that included quite a number of local band members. That does suck, for the bands and for Dave, and for the local music scene.

So Dave was not pleased, and was a bit on the drink, and we had a nice long chat about the rotten bastards who don’t come to shows like this, and what they’re missing out on, and why should people keep booking shows like this. Then I pushed him and V9R9 together, and they had a bit of a chat about where MSF should play in the twin cities, and Dave cheered up immensely. He came back and Ryan and Ed the once and current door guys came over and we had a nice rousing chat, and it was just all very pleasant and communal. (I learned that, if you’re inviting a girl back to your place, the most important thing is that the bathroom be clean, because they’ll [er, we’ll] put up with a lot of other stuff if we think it’s okay to sit on the toilet.) I had fully intended to leave the show at midnight, then decided maybe 1:00. Then ended up at home by 2:45. Friday at work kind of sucked, but I’m glad I stayed out anyway.

OTHER NEWS IN ROCK

One of the musicians whose in several bands but who is NOT Brandon T, or Guido, or Dawna, had his hearing checked to confirm that he’s losing quality over 8000. Uh…hertz? Or…megahertz? Or . . . something? Anyway. Remember, kids, to wear your earplugs.

Tonight is Rock against Rape, featuring some bands I’ve never heard of. I know that former Vice Dolls people are in one of them. I wish them well.
I had other rock news. I don’t remember. Expect to hear it soon.