3/29/08 - The Slack, Pet Hospital, Beauxregard, Land Mammals

ok, this entry will be subtitled, The One That Overuses Capital Letters. Why? cuz i WANT to.

went to the liquid lounge, mainly to see pet hospital, but also wanted to check out the slack. small place, but the layout somehow makes it work. great sound system, too. also like the outdoor patio, to where you can stumble with your drink, if you're so inclined.

the tim harrigan groupie (THG) and batman, both flying solo, showed up too. THG, mebbe not understanding that i had just front-loaded my full compliment of oh-so-unpremium vodka, bought me a rumandcoke, thereby officially puttin me Over The Edge. understand, i am not complaining. but henceforth after that, i was not exactly in the kind of shape to critically analyze, or even sorta remember, what i was seeing/hearing. so, fair warning.

very young and squishy crowd at the lounge - prolly due to the youngish nature of some of the bands. nice.

first up was land mammals, a 4-man band straight outta irving. lead singer separated at birth from rivers cuomo. these guys were a riot. i hope to gawd they were supposed to be, at least some of the time. 1st song featured one of the guitar players doin a really really awful falsetto, but i think that was the desired effect. i can tell you, it had me in stitches. i got the giggles, and couldn't stop - it killed me. anyhows, after that, the rivers lookalike (The Man With The Impossibly Deep Voice For His Body Size) took over (loved his voice, btw). these dudes played some totally catchy, quirky, but at times rockin indie pop. excellent stuff. they even whipped out a trumpet and trombone at one point - love that. really dug the unusual songs, really appreciate that kind of creativity. kind of hard to describe their stuff (see above), but i know i totally dug it. will definitely want to catch them again.

next up was beauxregard, The Band of Many Many Skinny Ties. really wasn't sure what to expect, based on their myspace (thot it might be a bit too retro for me), but i can tell you, i loved what i heard - lookin at my cellphone outbox, i called them "fukin crazy awesome". 5 or 6 people on stage (soory), including Hot Chick on Keys. most of the band members seemed to be almost in my age bracket (encouraging to us oldsters). some really catchy, crowd-pleasin retro-ish pop, very well performed. good-timey stuff, really good. another one to catch a second time.

walked over to the curtain club between sets and reaffirmed my hatred of screamo. seems like no matter when you poke your head into that place, it's always the same-soundin shit (excluding, of course, batman's band - them guys are great). saw scotty mankoff in the entry hallway makin some drunkass chick pose like a porn star for some pictures. THG wanted to know if she'd do that for a cellphone camera. we didn't ask her.

next up was pet hospital, who kicked my ass as usual (3rd time to see 'em - reviews here and here). 3-man outfit, but with an amazing ability to fill a room with sound. seemed like the set was more like the first time i saw 'em - more hard-rockin stuff than the 2nd time. don't let the myspace fool you - these guys can rock out. seems like steven is getting more and more confident with his vocals - i thot he sounded great last night. 'twas a fantastic set.

last up was the slack, and holy shit, these guys are in a completely different league, at least as far as musical talent goes. unbelievable amount of talent on stage. chris holt is an absolutely phenomenal musician - i don't think i've seen anyone dominate the guitar quite like he does. it was amazing, i can't say that enough. loved his voice, loved eric's harmonies, loved the keys. all the songs finely crafted and expertly performed. if you appreciate virtuoso guitar playing, do yourself a favor and check these guys out.

went to zini's, as usual, but again my beloved was not there - starting to get worried that she might be seeing someone else. THG, batman, and I chatted w/ brian aboot the music biz until the wee-est of hours of the mornin.

great line-up at the lounge - kudos to lion dog records for puttin in together.