Friday, December 21, 2007

12/20/07 - Matthew and the Arrogant Sea, Florene, Backflap, Scarily Terrible/Verulf (RGRS)

had to get in one last show before a short hiatus, so i headed out to rubber gloves on a thursday night.

missed a childlike fear. i'd seen them before, and i just wasn't motivated enough to make it there in time.

second was Scarily Terrible. or Verulf. i'm not really sure, since they never said. lots of people on stage - 2 guitars, drummer, keys, and two dudes sitting on the stage, alternately tweakin knobs on their machines and runnin out the back door in the middle of songs to do gawd knows what. played i think 2 songs. seemed like the geetar player played the same refrain over and over for the length of the 10-minute long songs, and the others embellished around that. no vocals, per se, just ahhs and oohs. twas aight.

next up was backflap. 4-man - guitar, bass, keys, drummer. keyboard chick in distractingly tight jeans. really unconventional, totally infectious songs. loved the bizarre song structures. totally appreciate the creativity. heard some primus influence. drummer did excellent job of keepin it all together. had a song about a cow, and one about a lesbian who hates weiners, i think. great set. really dug it. would love to see again.

florene - seen these guys before. 2-man, tons of keys and macs, definite panda bear/AC vibe. good stuff. like what the geetar added. played 3 or 4 long songs.

Matthew and the Arrogant Sea - 3rd time to see these guys (see previous reports here and here). startin to learn the set - love "you still love me blondie" and "i'm no snake". didnt like the 3rd song, a really slow instrumental that he acknowledged was a cock-tease. anyways, besides that, it was another enjoyable (tho short) set. i'm always amazed when bands play with such great energy and passion when there are only 5 people in the audience. gawd bless em for that.

froze my ass off in there again. why is there a ceiling fan goin 90 miles an hour when it's 45 degrees outside?

overall, a good night - will definitely help tide me over until i can venture out again...

Monday, December 17, 2007

12/15/07 - Chemistry Set

OK, OK - I have heard the clamoring of my adoring public, so here's yer damn trip report (tony).

this was the night i proved my dedication to and sacrifice for the indie music scene, leaving a truly hapnin xmas bash at batman's house with lots of free booze and an abundance of females to support one of my all-time favorite bands. i left behind beer-with-a-side-of-motor-oil pong, drunken discussions about piledriving, and the (alleged) wing-man assistance of the legendary mr. Q (in my defense, i thot he was bustin my balls).

anyhow, with my sanity and manhood being questioned by all, i drove down to downtown dallas to City Tavern, with tk ridin shotgun. i was amazed how alive that area is - traffic jams on main street, tons of people, valet stands everywhere. ended up findin a metered spot that you didnt have to pay after 6 - nice. why isn't deep ellum like that? hmmm, suspicious. no cover at city tavern - also nice. twas a nice place, from what i remember - lotsa wood, i think. not overly smoky.

got there for the last few minutes of Arthur Yoria, performing solo. wouldn't mind hearing more of him sometime. had loopers, machines, etc. to jazz up the sound. really pretty good, from what i heard.

headlining was the always stupendous Chemistry Set. As i've said before, i am so in love with this band, i dont think i could ever be disappointed with one of their performances. every song is so well-written, clever, catchy, rockin, beautiful - what else can i say? they are literally the only band in town whose show i would never miss, hapnin xmas party or not. they graced us with an extended set, too, hitting all of my favorites. it was a fantastic set, and i am incredibly glad i went. got to talk to meredith before and stephen after - really nice folks. made a couple requests for their next show (1/11 at Dada - don't miss it).

went back to the party afterwards (2:30ish), but it was mostly a sausage-fest at that point. drunken sausages, at that.