Location: Lucky Gator Loft
Bands: No Slogan, Sass Dragons, The Real Christs, Das Kapital and more
Cost: $6 strongly enforced "donation"
Drinks: Free High Life and Modelo with admission
Things I missed to be there: ABACABB with Mr. Bobby, Rayaline, Skyler and more at the Black Hole Arcade; Juiceboxxx, Squidbotz, and Big Digits at The Note; The Sixth Sun at Wise Fools Pub; Marky Ramone DJ Set at Debonair Social Club
"I probably shouldn't be able to complain. I've been in some bands that sounded just as bad in that same bad way. The only difference is, I was in those bsands in 1994."
"Well that doesn't count. You can't make fun of someone for wearing bellbottoms in 1974."
"Yeah, but you can still look back and laugh at the pictures."
The Real Christs were not my cup of tea at all. With as much praise as I've given to various bands for having some refreshing sort of nineties sound, these cats were sick with it, and it was making me sick (at least the band, in conjunction with the High Life and Olde English I'd been drinking). They sounded way too much like Chicago punk ten years back. Lynnards Innards. Oblivion. The Mushugunas. Apocalypse Hoboken. Deceivingly bouncy uptempo that never really got fast.
I'm willing to believe that the band wasn't as bad as I thought they were, and that the problem was that we'd spent too much time idle. I'm usually willing to accept punk time as a facet of life, but that's when punk time means the bands are all going to start two hours later than they were supposed to, not when it means I've been sitting around for an hour or two, drinking and shootin' the shit, waiting for something to happen, just to sit through thirty minutes of bullshittery where handpicked punk scenester judges announce the winners of a chili contest that affects maybe four people in the room who participated. I'm willing to believe that that was the problem, but I still think the Real Christs pretty much blew.
The next group, Bloomington's The Accidents, were a marked improvement. Comparisons could be drawn to Shellac and At The Drive In, bands with semisoft-voiced vocalists who were good at screaming, and guitarists who experimented with the sound of their guitar, instead of just playing it. You only got a little of this from their act on stage, but you can see it more if you run through the songs on their page. Good shit, plus one of the dudes in the band had his nuts hanging out of the bikini briefs he stripped down to during the first set. Balls!
Das Kapital played hardfast, singalong rock'n'roll with wo-oah choruses. They had that right balance of melodicism and power chords where they were easily distinguishable from their influences. They were good, but not good enough to get me to stay. The loft was hot and things were getting stale. If t wasn't for the stoners in the parking lot, I would havebeen gone. As it was, they kept me there until No Slogan's set, so I went back up.
No Slogan was kinda pissed by now, which meant that Benny was in rare form. Benny is No Slogan's singer, and if he weren't in bands, he would probably have to work at Ed Debevic's or something, just to be as rude and as polarizing as he is, and not be considered a jerk.
Hey, I'd like to thank you for putting us on this show here in Wicher Park. This is very muvh the nicest place we've ever played in....This song is called "Killed by Gentrification", I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about...this song's in Spanish, it goes out to all you crackers.
It was one of the better No Slogan sets I'd seen in a whil. Joe Skeletor was ripping drum solos left and right, and with each song they'd drawn back more and more of the crowd who had taken to wandering about the building, hanging out of windows, or smoking outside. The Sass Dragons followed, and were supposed to be good, "special guest" good even, but I couldn't stay any longer. I just couldn't. I blame the beer.
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