After some serious confusion right before the show was set to start I did leave for Gooski's on my bike. It wasn't so hard to carry my guitar and pedals with me. It was actually kind of fun. When I got to the venue, there was still a lot of confusion. The touring band was at the bar somewhere, one of the performers had left, and the other band was standing around amongst themselves. We got a door person set up after talking, and I set up.
I had planned to play some of my early songs from the Home Life album, and that kind of happened. I had wanted to play the quieter song from that album, "The Elfin Mountans", but the crowd was talking a lot. I figured if I played that, nobody would pay attention. Everybody was already a little annoyed. I played something that started as "Giants of Earth" and evolved into something totally different. I went loud to shut everybody up and then played dissonant prepared guitar chimes. I didn't say anything when I got off the stage, that I was done, or that there were more bands, but the audience, basically just both bands, praised my set. The guys from Tin Foil said it was like Sonic Youth; that's one of the biggest compliments I could get.
Tin Foil played next without any boasting or other nonsense. This show was pretty screwed up, but I think we were all on the same page to just get through it. Tin Foil sounded like Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Standells and other Nuggets bands with their chugging rhythm guitar and fuzzy leads. They also reminded me of the modern band Cheap Time. The musick is that kind of traditional garage sound that's more Rolling Stones than Stooges. The bass provided a nice thick undercoat to the rest of the band, especially during a few bridges and breaks that were played. The lead guitar could really sing when it got the chance. And the backing vocals really added a lot of legitamate singing too to bring these songs to true prominence. Their set was super energetic and made me feel much better. I kind of wanted to go home on that high note, but it wasn't right to ditch the last band.
The last band, Tears of Joy, was pretty cool. They played a rougher pop-punk that meshed well with Tin Foil. This is our generation's garage rock, y'know? Some of the vocals did the whiny thing brought upon this planet by agents of Satan and other villainous jesters of evil. After the first few songs, things changed into something more like Miracle Legion or Gin Blossoms, a kind of 90s alt-rock/jangle pop meets pop-rock. It was pretty cool, much better than expected.
We thanked each other and did the "great set!" thing. Everything was good, but nobody was there to see it. I think maybe three non-band members were at the show. Too bad that the show didn't go the best it could have, but I really enjoyed seeing the other bands and playing the set that I played. I bought a Tin Foil record and went home.
Post a Comment