Spot The Local Music Curmudgeon - November 1st Edition

-A weekly blog where I highlight one show I definitely expect to attend (see *) and throw in a few more that I'd like to and might see given the money and the time.-

Recap


The Legendary Southmore House Shuts Down!!
Bummer! Southmore House on the east end finally lost it's fight against the new townhome owners. Having been hassled to the point where all shows were ending at 11pm, the kids at last Friday's show were hassled by Cops at about 10:30pm. Now I have seen cops have to handle noise complaints and when they are polite and apologetic it's impossible to get mad at them for doing their job. Unfortunately, word on the street was that the cops came in, shut it down, and declared that everyone leave and that in twenty minutes they would return with paddy wagons for any stragglers. Not a very polite or professional way to handle a bunch of kids but some cops are assholes and like to push their weight around to everyone's detriment. That unfortunately was the final straw and the club that housed so much of the hardcore and grindcore scene is no more. All shows have been moved to the Bill Hicks Resurrection Laboratory. R.I.P.

And then there were three
Last night's Sharks and Sailors performance was pretty interesting stuff. With the departure of Allen Hendrix on second guitar, you had a band that would be missing some of the space and texture afforded from his work as a guitarist. The Sharks somehow pulled it off by sacrificing delicacy and texture for pure muscle. Drummer Phil Woodward gets a lot of the credit for pushing the music forward by sheer force. Phil along with Melissa Lonchambon brought the heavy backdrop leaving guitarist Mike Rollin in the unenviable position filling in all the color. Most songs worked with the leaner more straight-ahead arrangements yet there were parts where the missing textures were sorely missed. It's an interesting stage for this band. A band who perfected a great sound and now finds itself having to approach their material and interaction in a new manner. I'm going to argue that it's not there yet; it's just a bit too early and you can sense that the band is still working at how to get what's in their head out and into a live performance. Which is not to suggest the performance was anything less than stellar just that this is a band that's changing into something new. It should be fun watching where this evolution leads them. The important thing is, despite my fears, they didn't fuck up my favorite band.

PS Thanks to the Meridian for the ticket giveaway. :)

OK onto this week's shows. This week you'll note that there is not a single asterisk. Yes, I'm, out of necessity, staying in this week. Nevertheless, unless you also have the Sonics interrupting your schedule, you should check out some of these shows:

This Week's Spotlight


Saturday 03 November 2007
Don Caballero, Blades, Animal
@ The Proletariat
Yes, I'm missing out on this one which is a bummer. Whoever booked the Don Cab with Blades deserves a medal! I can't imagine a better night of proggy instrumental math rock than this one - Pittsburg's finest meets Pasadena's baddest in a no holds barred cage match. Yes, maybe it's not a fair match as Don Cab's only original member is drummer Damon Che which arguably makes the moniker a bit of a stretch but the new cab is certainly a respectable outfit. If you read our October issue you'd know a bit of what to expect from the Blades kids. They still have all their original members and have no qualms about kicking ass. So if you see an empty pack of bubble gum - run! Animal? Well his days with the Electric Mayhem were incredible but lets face it his Keith Moon persona has grown stale over the years. We all know the backstory - the drugs, the women, the sex video... Oh wait oh it's a band? Oh shit! Sorry. OK, my bad. I have no idea who Animals are but Blades says they are worth catching so don't show up late.

Also this week...

Wednesday 07 November 2007
King Kahn and BBQ, Born Liars, Fourth Year Freshman
@ Rudyards
This is where you want to be next Wednesday. KK&BBQ put on some of the most entertaining garage rock ever and local boys Born Liars kick it with vim and vigour. A fun night is guaranteed and worthy of a hangover the next day. (PS this was the Runner-up for this week's spotlight)

Thursday 01 November
Party Garbage, Cop Warmth, Das Kapital, The Takes
@ The Proletariat
(early starts at 6pm)
I'm recommending this one solely on Cop Warmth's lunacy. I don't know anything about the other bands but if birds of a feather hang together then this should be a good use of a fiver and get you home by a reasonable bedtime.

Thursday 01 November 2007
Spoon, New Pornographers,Emma Pollack
@ Warehouse Live
Here's a big show. I had kind of mixed feeling on the new Spoon (it was good but hardly groundbreaking), and I've still yet to pick up the New New Pornographers album (though their streak of ugly album art is still holding up). Both good bands and a good use of your Thursday night.

Friday 02 November 2007
Sideshow Tramps & Clouseaux
@ The Continental Club
Sideshow Tramps always put on a good show. Their show may have moved away from the more depression-era folky thing and more towards a bluesy sound but it's still a solid show.

For more shows I recommend Space City Rock