p l a y i n g o u t: show reviews
the red krayola/joan of arc/david grubbs
mike watt/the numbers
demolition doll rods/bantam rooster/gore gore girls
- the red krayola/joan of arc/david grubbs
the empty bottle (chicago) 9 october 1999
the red krayola only played 4 shows on this "tour", one in west hollywood, two in japan, and this one in chicago. so I eagerly made plans to witness my second visitation with this legendary band.
after arriving in chicago, i decided to visit a couple of record stores, to feed that recurring habit. as i was scouring the racks of the wicker park reckless records i happened to notice band equipment in the process of being set up for an "in-store" show. lo and behold, it is my good fortune to be present for a bonus red krayola show. after a rough and ready beginning, mayo thompson, david grubbs, tom watson, john mcintyre and sandy yang treated passers-by (including mike watt, who stood outside) to an impromptu-sounding preview of the set.
at the empty bottle, the evening set started late, well after 11 pm. david grubbs opened with a not-very-well-received set of his moderately quiet guitar stylings and intermittent low-key vocals. he was accompanied for a couple of numbers by a cd backing track which was pretty unsettling, if not absolutely annoying. this was the third time i have seen him within the past couple of years playing solo, and the unvarying nature of the academically impersonal set was too predictable for me. it also went on far too long.
joan of arc came up next. i have not heard any of their records, but the set they played came off as a second-line post-rock in the tradition of slint and tortoise. they also played way, way too long. it was well after 1 am when the red krayola finally took the stage.
anyone who has more than casually perused these pages will already know that i could never be called objective when discussing the red krayola. i did have a previous experience to compare this show to (a kalamazoo show in fall 1996, i think), and this performance was a wonderful experience. grubbs redeemed himself by holding the fort while mayo thompson put on an extremely animated show, which included a long "open" segment where improvisation and experimental music sallied forth. the lineup was outstanding, lacking only tom watson, who was playing with mike watt. he did show up just after the music ended with his guitar strapped to his back, fully intending to contibute. the drummers were george hurley on electronic drums and john mcintyre on acoustic drums, mayo thompson and david grubbs on guitars and vocals and sandy yang on intermittent femme voice.
i was enthralled and much entertained. the group was powerful, especially with the dual drummers. the material from fingerpainting fared especially well in the hands of this combo. and i must thank mayo for taking the time to hold a conversation and exchange contact information with me. if we are lucky, maybe i will be able to share some of the fruits of future communications.
- mike watt/the numbers
7th house (pontiac) 27 october 1999
i walked in just late enough to miss all but the last few numbers by the numbers, who were rather obvious in their fixation on emulating a certain mod-era british group. not my cuppa tea, and the windmilling did not make up for the lack of any charisma or a keith moon-style drummer.
mike watt & the pair of pliers more than made the evening worthwhile. i have met the man twice before, once in the minutemen days, and again when he was touring with firehose. he is a true original, unassuming as all get-out. i have an image of him sitting in his van after the show, greet ing each and every one who approaches him with real care. they played a great set. i especially loved the roky erickson cover.
- demolition doll rods/bantam rooster/gore gore girls the magic bag (ferndale) 30 october 1999
gore gore girls were great, very intense...bantam rooster put on another killer high-energy show...waytogo tommy!...demolition doll rods were more of an iggy-type show than a musical performance...reminded me of butthole surfers is the spectacle...the music kinda sucked...i got a headache from the bad guitar feeding back...
b . w i l d e r e d
...let us know what you think...your opinions are invited... email: b.wildered@white-rose.net
d e s i d e r a t a number three | front page | previous page |