There were a bunch of bands down in the superfund toxic wasteland of - Plastination: Hi Tobias. Look over there!
The Copper Tones: Surf rock. Pretty good.
Riot a Go Go: Girl-fronted punk. Pretty good.
Radio Noise: Ska. Eh.
New Model Army (actually Justin and Dean doing a mostly-accoustic set): Fantastic, as always.
Smash Up Derby: I liked these guys the last time I saw them, but this time they did nothing for me. It might just be that I'm that much more sick of mashups now, but I think they just didn't sound very good this time.
Babyland: Ok industrial band. They are two guys plus backing tracks. The drummer is fantastic, and uses random bits of metal instead of actual drums. The singer is manic and entertaining, but screams in exactly the same style on every song, which I find irritating.
F-Space: I thought these guys were awesome (and not just because they use fire). One of the guys primarily played this thing that seemed to be a bunch of big springs stretched over a metal table that periodically spat fire. The music was heavily distorted and drumming heavy; old-school industrial, sort of in the Crash Worship vein, but less tribal.
And later that night at The Independent:
- Invisible Ballet: Really great! Invisible Ballet is Rebecca and Ryan from Halou, doing more of a synthpop thing than the sorta-triphop of Halou. This time, they also had Evan and Shawn from Battery playing with them, which was cool.
Then New Model Army again, this time with the full band. They were great, but the club's sound was crap. This was unexpected, because it sounded fine for Invisible Ballet, and it sounded great there when I saw Tackhead. Despite the sound issue, I think I prefer NMA's accoustic sets. They seem a lot more powerful and emotional.
Wow, people STILL wear those stupid welding/red baron goggles on their foreheads down there?
Yeah, they still wear extensions and dreadlocks, too. We're not exactly talking bleeding-edge culture, here.
this "culture" makes me wanna unabomb it.
and Oregon is the *height* of fashion, of course.
Uh oh, looks like I've outed a goggler.
Not so much. Never worn the things. Just been to Oregon a bunch.
You know your friends better than I do, of course, but can they move?
The Bay Area's a pretty expensive place to live, and in any case moving usually involves a certain amount of upheaval and time off from work and favors from friend and other things that they may not be able to afford right now...
The problem is they like it like that.
yes, and i KNOW how much you all hate it.
I totally see the conflict. On the one hand, you've got a great place to throw parties, and on the other hand, leukemia. Tough call, tough call.
if you're being sarcastic, i'm going to punch you in the NADS.
also, it's real, real easy to say "just move" when you're rich, buster.
You know how you can tell when I'm being sarcastic?
I'm never sarcastic.
i am tempted to do a quick scan through your entries/comments to prove you wrong, but i have to leave the house now.
i think you're just trying to protect your NADS.
YOu just want to wallow in the toxic waste so you'll all become SUPERHEROES!
SHHHHH IT'S A SECRET EXPERIMENT!
who wants to live forever?
i'd rather try to enjoy life, and live it richly... if that involves risks so be it.
hence the two wheels thing...
this may sound flippant, but its not...
living here with some levels of toxisity, is far better than living in a gated community in dublin / pleasenton...no mater how fresh the air... yeah it would be nice if we could afford a space like this in soma... but i can't... being able to do things like have babyland play my house makes it worth while. remember how it felt the first time you had a band you really like play DNA?...
we are all going to die one day... toxins are everywhere... i don't drink or swim in the waters of the creek... i live next to it... again danger is everywhere. this is a great venue (for some things) ... i'm not going to keep myself up at night worrying about things i can't really avoid, or control.
Good point! The economic effect of the toxic waste is to allow for some measure of low income housing, without which several sectors of the city's economy would inflate.
I hate the whole idea of "affordable housing." That problem should be addressed by adjusting the levels in the graph on page two of this document, not by trying to build tiny cramped houses in the waste dump.
Then New Model Army again, this time with the full band. They were great, but the club's sound was crap. This was unexpected, because it sounded fine for Invisible Ballet, and it sounded great there when I saw Tackhead.
I agree. I usually don't have to wear my earplugs at The Independent, but I did this time. The sound guy must have found the "11" notch on the amp.
Where am I supposed to look?
No pics of ye ol' plastiband. *pout*
twas fun fun fun, sept for the feedback still blasting out of my eardrums.
Aw man. I miss Tackhead.
Glad to hear they're good. I've missed them so far, but Ethan Port is a Savage Republic alumnus who's done a lot of great work whaling on scrap metal with other scrap metal over the last 20 years.
they play at BM every year... very good fit, on the playa. heard them in the city once - didn't work for me nearly as well for some reason :)
(a) dear sangamon: what do you think of about five year's worth of exposure to this area? (also: DAMN we need a water filter, already)
(b) uh. mike's not a rivetkid, and never has been, and is probably blissfully unaware of that particular trend. his goggles/jumpsuit are more suggestive of a tard helmet than anything else.
(c) NICE pictures. AND two of sara without her flipping you off! good work.
(d) STILL astounded by how different our tastes are, band-wise.
but i'm glad you had fun! so did i.
Water filter doesn't take out lots of crap. Heavy metals get right through. Get water delivered?
disco filters tend to resolve most heavy metal problems.
damn--you're so clever!
Thanks for the Detroit hate. Seriously. A lot happened during the Archer administration that Detroit was on the verge of positive growth. Thankfully under the purview of Mayor Thug-hop McNavigator some exciting events like sports riots, large corporate bankruptcies, and chemical plant explosions are finally on the rise again. Your assistance in perpetuating Detroit as the shithole it is will always be welcome. It helps beat down any positive influences that have chosen, or have been chosen, to relocate here.
P.S. If you're ever in Detroit (god, why?) arrange for a tour of Zug Island. Your mouth will taste like a dirty penny for a week.
Superfund sites in Detroit vs Superfund sites in San Francisco
Plus, a nice close look at Zug Island - to fully understand the saying "As fresh as a Zug Island breeze".
In defense of Babyland, Dan's been increasingly less nasal-scream-intensive on the studio recordings. The live show is what it is, though.
Having heard the studio stuff before seeing the live act, getting to see the barrels and the power saw were big fun. Don't do you much good, though, huh?
hey <lj user="jwz">, because of the flames, for a second I thought Survival Research Labs featured.
thx for comming & taking pics...
its a shame you didn't like bablyand more...was that your first time finally seeing them?
personally i like NMA much better with the fuller sound & energy of the whole band... also i found 'smash up' like a bad skit on SNL that when too far... and f-sape was very good... but a little to pretentious and sterile.
Smash Up Derby: I liked these guys the last time I saw them, but this time they did nothing for me. It might just be that I'm that much more sick of mashups now, but I think they just didn't sound very good this time.
I agree--it was during their set that I decided I needed to leave. It wasn't *just* them, but they definitely contributed. Plus, they stuck "Genie in a Bottle" in my head for the next couple of hours--grrrrr!