9/29/07 - Paul Banks, Last Gasp

started out at lucky's roadhouse again, this time the joint was empty (no more $.25 drinks, eh?). went back to car to, uh, fetch something and stepped in ankle-deep mud pit behind lucky's. in sandles. shee-ut. got to use bathroom at cavern for somethin besides pukin', tho. heh heh. joe finally showed up. missed first band - no loss, based on their myspace/purevolume. went back and forth from cavern to lucky's between bands, watchin mr. q make time with ultra-wasted a&m drop-out chick (that's right, darlin, i graduated in '98) who's name we forgot but had bachelorette-party gal friends with s&m gear. how does he do it? must be his stylin' shirts. anyways, the show:

paul banks - this man is a musical genius. listen to his cd - i dare you to disagree. the next rufus wainwright, i tell ya. amazing voice, as i've said before. fantastic songwriting. wish he had closed with "color", instead of sam cooke/beatles/bowie medley. both songs show off his pipes, i just think it's best to close with your own material, especially when it's so goddam strong.

the last gasp - 2nd time to see. excellent, as before. loved the harmonies from the keyboardist. really enjoyed the set. met christian afterwards - super nice guy, gave me their demo cd.

a pacific model - 3rd time to see. some songs in definite radiohead territory, some more ordinary. powerful lead vox. Cure cover - bleh.

pretty good crowd at the cavern, which means the usual annoying louder-than-the-band chatter and scuse-me scuse-me as people try to get to the bar. was entertained by preternaturally short dude with pony tail and goatee makin time with the ladies, or was that his 50-something sugar daddy boyfriend behind him pretending to groove to the music? i don't know, i should be nicer.

9/15/07 - Chemistry Set

OK, got pretty messed up at lucky's roadhouse before-hand (25 cent drinks!), so I missed alice rose and pretty much zest of yore. sorry, dudes, have to catch you next time. but chemistry set was incredible. where was the fucking crowd??? godammit, i just don't get it. incredible set - pilot kiss my karma, world in reverse, million dollar day - jesus these guys are good. bought the cd, finally (thanks, tk!).

finally, a good night at the cavern, but only because the crowd was thin. went back to lucky's afterwards to sober up - too funny, watchin 5'2" vanilla ice in sunglasses dirty dance with some britney spears wannabee's.

chemistry set next week at city tavern - be there, shitheads. i know i will.

9/8/07 - Stavely, The Orange, Great Raven

omigod, i hate the effin' cavern. spune - please, fortheloveofgod, find somewhere else.

nearly came face to face with the barkin dog Avi Adelman - walked by as he filmed a car being towed away. jesus christ, dude, find a hobby.

Timothy Moffett - one-man band: drum machine and some sort of electronic guitar/keyboard contraption. reminded me of jean-michael jarre's stuff - very 80's.
Stavely - 4-man, all with X's on their hands. amazing stuff. great voice on lead - a real natural. loved all the songs, and not one cover to be found. CD coming soon, they tell me. looking forward to seeing them again. made the night for me.
The Orange - 5-man, plus mannequins. hard to describe the music style, just good-timey jangly pop rock. didn't see evidence of the whole psychedelic thing, myself. high-energy lead - even knocked the lights out. lead vocals a tad reedy, even a little emo? 3rd or 4th song in was a top 40 cover - ugh.
Great Raven - 5-man, plus chick backup singer. lead wore goofy beret/newsboy hat and pained expression. some songs overtly bluesy (SRV-ish). pretty good, just didn't connect. couldn't get past the stupid-ass hat (kidding).