Rock Show
Went to Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival, showed up late, as is my custom.
The Romantics - Yeah, the Romantics. Who knew? They've never been fresh, but they're good at what they do and if you don't like "What I like About You," you may not have a soul.
The Dictators - My friend Todd was once drinking at 2A in the East Village years ago, and Handsome Dick Manitoba was working the bar. Some guy started to OD and Dick immediately tossed Todd a tub of ice, came out from behind the bar, started throwing handfuls of ice into the horse-head's face and then began slapping him hard until his eyes fluttered open. Dick still rocks.
Nancy Sinatra - After opening with the theme to her father's film, "Tony Roma," Nancy said the five saddest words in rock, "This is our newest single." Ugh. But she did throw down "Boots" and she is Sinatra's daughter, so...
Big Star - I really dig Steve Malkmus, "Slanted and Enchanted" is probably my favorite record of the '90s, so I was pretty happy to go see The Jicks at the Middle East in Boston a few years back. This stunning young woman, no more than 22, is onstage with him, singing back up and playing tambourine. She can't sing and fortunately the sound guy realized it pretty quickly, her mike got mercifully quieter and quieter as the show progressed. It was depressing and embarrassing. Watching Alex Chilton yesterday was worse. He had the look of a man impatiently waiting for the loaner car after having dropped off his wife's mini-van, annoyed by the prospect of being late for the development meeting at his software firm. I had no idea "Down the Street" could be so lifeless.
Bo Diddley - Bo doesn't play lead but half the time these days. And he "rapped."
The Ravonettes - Super cute Danish chicks playing bouncy guitar rock, what's not to like? I'll tell you, when I hear their music all I can think of is K-Mart.
The Pretty Things - Inventors of the rock opera, covered by Bowie. Nice CV, still put on a reasonably good show.
The New York Dolls - Their first show in the States in over thirty years. DJ made a half-hearted feint at drag and Sylvain Sylvain just looked like an ass. A bit of let down musically, too.
The Strokes - I like The Strokes. I stumbled upon them by hearing Newbury Comics play it over their stereo. I asked the kid at the counter who it was. "It's The Strokes. They're fucking awesome. The records not out in the US yet, but we have the German import. It's $26, but it's worth it. Yeah, it was, particularly because the US version doesn't have "New York City Cops" or the saucy latex-gloved-hand-slapping-its-own-ass cover photo. Last night was the third time I've seen them and they delivered. They're a genuinely good band. They also get bonus points for Julian mocking Pepsi, one of the event's sponsor, while Fab sat at his drum kit wearing a Coke shirt. High Five!
Iggy and The Stooges - As my housemate said last night/this morning, "I've never seen one man so focused on a single goal, to rock. Pop, Ashton, Ashton and Mike Watt on bass? Please. We never stood a chance. Those guys took the stage and made plain why they were the headliners. Iggy is to us as we are to apes.
The Romantics - Yeah, the Romantics. Who knew? They've never been fresh, but they're good at what they do and if you don't like "What I like About You," you may not have a soul.
The Dictators - My friend Todd was once drinking at 2A in the East Village years ago, and Handsome Dick Manitoba was working the bar. Some guy started to OD and Dick immediately tossed Todd a tub of ice, came out from behind the bar, started throwing handfuls of ice into the horse-head's face and then began slapping him hard until his eyes fluttered open. Dick still rocks.
Nancy Sinatra - After opening with the theme to her father's film, "Tony Roma," Nancy said the five saddest words in rock, "This is our newest single." Ugh. But she did throw down "Boots" and she is Sinatra's daughter, so...
Big Star - I really dig Steve Malkmus, "Slanted and Enchanted" is probably my favorite record of the '90s, so I was pretty happy to go see The Jicks at the Middle East in Boston a few years back. This stunning young woman, no more than 22, is onstage with him, singing back up and playing tambourine. She can't sing and fortunately the sound guy realized it pretty quickly, her mike got mercifully quieter and quieter as the show progressed. It was depressing and embarrassing. Watching Alex Chilton yesterday was worse. He had the look of a man impatiently waiting for the loaner car after having dropped off his wife's mini-van, annoyed by the prospect of being late for the development meeting at his software firm. I had no idea "Down the Street" could be so lifeless.
Bo Diddley - Bo doesn't play lead but half the time these days. And he "rapped."
The Ravonettes - Super cute Danish chicks playing bouncy guitar rock, what's not to like? I'll tell you, when I hear their music all I can think of is K-Mart.
The Pretty Things - Inventors of the rock opera, covered by Bowie. Nice CV, still put on a reasonably good show.
The New York Dolls - Their first show in the States in over thirty years. DJ made a half-hearted feint at drag and Sylvain Sylvain just looked like an ass. A bit of let down musically, too.
The Strokes - I like The Strokes. I stumbled upon them by hearing Newbury Comics play it over their stereo. I asked the kid at the counter who it was. "It's The Strokes. They're fucking awesome. The records not out in the US yet, but we have the German import. It's $26, but it's worth it. Yeah, it was, particularly because the US version doesn't have "New York City Cops" or the saucy latex-gloved-hand-slapping-its-own-ass cover photo. Last night was the third time I've seen them and they delivered. They're a genuinely good band. They also get bonus points for Julian mocking Pepsi, one of the event's sponsor, while Fab sat at his drum kit wearing a Coke shirt. High Five!
Iggy and The Stooges - As my housemate said last night/this morning, "I've never seen one man so focused on a single goal, to rock. Pop, Ashton, Ashton and Mike Watt on bass? Please. We never stood a chance. Those guys took the stage and made plain why they were the headliners. Iggy is to us as we are to apes.
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