The Epoxies at Café du Nord:

They were awesome, as last time. You shall go see them at DNA Lounge on Sun, May 22.

The Dresden Dolls:

Tuesday at GAMH was an incredible show; they did a really long set, and this time they had some really good acrobats on stage with them. They also played a bunch of songs I hadn't heard before.

Then I also saw them open for Nine Inch Nails on Wednesday and Thursday, and they were also great, but it was a very different experience. They sounded like a completely different band, really; I imagine it was just a matter of being in such a huge room, with the drums amplified up to "ROCK SHOW" levels. Somehow it made them sound a lot more... conventional? I heard a few people at the show going "what the hell was that supposed to be?" so I suspect that if you didn't know them already, you might not have gotten it.

Nine Inch Nails:

This was a very good show. I wouldn't say it was the best I've seen them, but still a lot of fun. They seemed a lot more low-key and subdued than previous shows, where it seemed like someone was often getting hurt on stage. It was great seeing them two nights in a row, because I didn't have to make a decision: the first night I actually watched the show, and the second night I spent in the pit. They played pretty different sets both nights, too: a lot more stuff from the new album the second night.

The album's good. I didn't think much of the first single, "Hand That Feeds" (it feels very poppy and overproduced, like it has "This Will Be Our Radio Friendly Hit Single" written all over it), but the rest of the album is growing on me. It was a much better song when they played it live.

Menomena:

Heard one song, it was nasal and whiny. Went upstairs and had a really good ahi tuna sandwich.

Radio 4:

These guys were really good -- in that, like so many bands, they stole everything they know from Gang of 4. Which is not in itself a bad thing: if you're going to steal, steal from the best. But when the second drummer percussionist started wailing on his bongos hard enough to break the drumsticks, I turned to Angela and said, "if this guy gets out a melodica, someone needs to just kick his ass."

Sure enough, two songs later, melodica.

Gang of Four:

Oh. My. Fucking. God.

Being an old person, I have seen a lot of live rock shows. I have seen a lot of very, very, very good shows.

And yet, after this show, I feel like I only thought I had seen good shows before. These four elderly punks kicked the ass of every rock band I've ever seen. Every song was a boot in the fucking teeth.

When Jon King spends the whole of "He'd Send In The Army" slowly hitting a microwave with a baseball bat, it's like it's the first time it's ever been done. He hits that microwave and looks at you like "this is how you hit a fucking microwave!"

Fate had conspired to keep me from seeing this, one of my favorite bands of all time, for many years. I have in fact held in my hands tickets to their shows twice before in the past, and both times the tour was cancelled before it made it to where I was.

They played for maybe an hour and a half, and every song was my favorite song. I would have screamed along with them for another three hours.

The most shocking thing about this show is that I ended up with a bunch of extra tickets, and I had a hard time giving them away, because -- to my great surprise and sadness -- so few people I know have even heard of Gang of Four. How is this possible?? Even though they've heard them in so many bands who came since. You like The Pixies? These guys invented The Pixies. And Sonic Youth, X, Fugazi, Big Black, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol, The Strokes, White Stripes...

I'm going to see them again Tuesday night (I believe it's not sold out yet) and if you don't go to that show, you're a god damned fool!

At the very least, I demand that you obtain a copy of Entertainment and/or the Brief History Of The 20th Century comp. Hop to it. Go.