Last night I went to a show at The Dial after work. What an earth-shattering surprise, I know. The Crisis cats picked me up on Enterprise Circle and I forgot to have them stop by AMPM real quick so I could get an iced tea.There was pretty much no one there at all besides the bands who were playing and the regular outside-smoking girls who don't care one way or another who's playing. They're just there.I've already reviewed Light Light and Crisis Arm before and I didn't really go into this show with the expectation of writing a review. I was just big chilling. Then again, I've been reviewing things pretty much at random lately so intent can't fully be taken into account as the full cause (CRIMINOLOGY).
I was end-of-the-rope sleepy and only had a sandwich for dinner so I was being kind of awkward and didn't really know what to do with myself (again, big shock right). I got some work in on another review I'm writing but really not too much. That one will either become a full-blown short story or never be written at all. Probably the latter.
I'm intentionally gonna be kinda vague in my reviews of the bands who played because, I was FEELING kinda vague.
Washing Machines played first; they're an "indie" band from Los Angeles who kind of reminded me of Pavement but without the quirky vocals. They have a girl playing mandolin and the lead guitarist looks exactly like my buddy Matt Brown. They were pretty tight but didnt wring my throat or anything. The main singer guy, who clearly spends alot of time on his "just-rolled-out-of-bed" look, threw his expensive as shit guitar at his amp and then kicked it on the floor during their last song. They then asked for a share of the door money (you are the first band playing and clearly no one is here yet) and left directly after their set was done.
A real class-act, those Washing Machines.
At some point in-between bands, maybe it was here, I went out and sat with the cigarette girls. Kate mentioned that she had never seen any of the Harry Potter movies; I recounted that I'm unfamiliar with the books as well and we gave each other a high-five. As a circle we continued on about dorky subjects we do or do not like, which of course concluded with me raving on about R2D2 after Sara brought him up.
The real hero.
The Gift Machine was next, they're an indie band from San Diego who play real subtle, pretty music along the lines of The Evens. Last time they played here it was a guitar-drum duo and both of them are full-blown adults so the Evens comparison was even more apt, but this time around they had a younger dude adding electric guitar flourishes to their existing songs. He performed cool guitar-loop song before they played that had like 15 parts going in and out of each other. As much as I hate on pedals and loops and stuff, I secretly wish I knew how to do that kind of thing. It reminded me of an interlude from an early Dredg album but more fleshed out. I guess that guy's name was Dan Chambers.
I really really like The Gift Machine. Dave's vocals are very soft but hitting. Altogether they have a soothing sound but the lyrics have a restrained sentimental value that almost reminds me of Mark Kozelek's writing. The last song they played reminded be of the 'she knows, she knows' part in the Pumpkins song "Crush," and they played it for Norissa. Norissa is this lady who sometimes comes to the more indie/experimental shows. On this particular occasion she brought a boxful of fresh kale she grew in her frontyard that anybody could take if they wanted. That was really nice.
Light Light was gonna play next but since he's just one dude and Teenage Sweater has a somewhat complicated set-up, they put all their stuff together before he played. As they did that I talked with Doug and Brent and Tyler about the glory days of childhood, with lazer-tag and rubberband guns, Paintballing came up but we all agreed that was too expensive and we never really did that. I never even went once.
Doug did a little sound check and then started his Light Light set. Like I mentioned earlier up, I've reviewed his set before so I don't know how similar my description will be but I fucking love this guy's music. He does solo guitar soundscape stuff with all these effects that make his rapidfire strumming sound just huge. It's like a crystal. I don't know what that's supposed to mean but there you go. I closed my eyes and kind of meditated during his first song "Breakfast"; he played an acoustic song that was like, haunting; my favorite song of his is called "Good Luck, Have Fun." He says that's what you say to someone you can't have in your life anymore, and at the beginning of Starcraft games; it reminded me of "A Warm Place" by Nine Inch Nails but with an even deeper feel of regret. Really very good.
I followed Crisis Arm out to their van for some snacks but since Teenage Sweater had already set up before Light Light played they were pretty much started by the time we were packed in. So we just packed right back out. Teenage Sweater is a 2-piece group from San Francisco and they play synthed out heavy-dance music with live drums. Kind of, somewhat in the vein of groups Glass Candy, Sleigh Bells, or Crystal Castles (but without a female singer, like HEALTH) these guys have elements of raver or dubstep culture wedded with live performance and slightly abrasive elements lifted from trash-garage-core culture. It's dancey but not cute.
They're like a self-contained unit; they bring their own PA, speakers, everything. The non-drummer has feet pedals for these multicolored lights they have for effect, switching from blue to white to straight darkness. It seemed that most of the melodies were prerecorded because much of what he was doing on his huge double-keyboard-mixer device seemed minimal. I was jamming to this stuff though, they were cool. They'd probably kill it in a room with more people, I can see general vibes erupting for them.
They had actually played the cassette release for my band's album last summer but for the life of me I don't remember. I was pretty stressed/drunk that night. That was the only time The Gravitys played without a bassist and it was fucking terrible.
I had been sitting in a chair alone in the corner writing my Nuclear Family review until I realized, "what a loser," so I went into the lobby while Crisis Arm set up. The Gift Machine peeps and Norissa were on the couches chatting and they mentioned something about Spotify so I inquired about that. Earlier that very day a friend of mine had asked if he could find my music on Pandora and I replied, "no," but it got me to thinking: we don't really have much Internet presence outside our Facebook and Bandcamp. Are we supposed to be on SoundCloud and RadioFlag and all these other Internet things that I don't really use but casual music fans do? Dave kinda made me feel better about things though because he said Bandcamp is the best; the others you have to pay for memberships or they take some of your publishing rights or something. He was like, "You're good, bro" in so many words.
I think it was past midnight by the time Crisis Arm started. Cameron had mentioned earlier that she doesn't like playing last because she gets tired and just isn't into it. They seemed fine to me but they had played here at The Dial 3 times in the last 4 days and they've been sick the whole time so I can understand they were kinda over it at that point.
They have a few new songs besides "Late" (which is my muthafuckin JAM) and they played at least 1 that I think is called "Follow;" much like Late its pretty accessible in relation to the Crisis catalog and has a strong 90s-rock vibe. They played "Old Lightbulb," that one has a demented circus melody going on they should make a music video of like a room going in circles for that shit. I've had leads from a few of the songs stuck in my head since, battling for space with Fleetwood Mac's "Everywhere." Kevin broke in the head to his floor tom during one of the last songs. He's probably gonna need to buy another one of those, I'd suspect.
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After the show was over we were all just lingering around. Some of the Dial regulars who actually do work for the space (like painting and fixing things and not just talking a bunch of smack online about out-of-town bands) were doin' thangs so I milled around with them a little bit.
Eventually I got back in a conversation with the Family Time crew because I overheard Tyler say "I liked it better when I saw it in theatres and then I watched it again and it sucked." That sounded like a conversation that I would thrive in so I asked them what they were talking about; it was Ashton Kutcher's movie "The Butterfly Effect" that I never even made it all the way through when I tried to watch it once. ("I don't like movies")
We got to talking about the general phenomenon of no longer enjoying something the way that you used to and I recounted a similar case regarding the 90s punk band Good Riddance. When I was in like 6th or 7th grade I really liked them alot, they seemed so much more serious than the other Punk-O-Rama type bands and they have the kind of obvious, watered-down "Aimed Wrench" political lyrics that I used to eat the fuck up. Upon listening to like 3 Good Riddance CDs a few weeks ago when I was going through Mark Gravity's collection, however, it just seemed so played out and just not even close to the dopeness I had remembered.
Doug and I kinda broke off to discuss this further and he surmised it's like when you eat your favorite food way too much and then its like you can't eat it anymore. I related that in a way that's what's happened for me regarding punk and hardcore and metal and other 'extreme' musics; I overwhelmed myself and now everything just kind of blends together. Stuff I used to really enjoy, new stuff I probably would have been way more into a few years ago, it just doesn't hit me the same way anymore. He pointed out that genres are all so mixed and blended nowadays that kind-of everything seems less powerful than it used to. "Nothing's Shocking."
Homeboy was talking about how in alot of ways he doesn't like the use of genres, sees them as unnecessary or even misleading. That makes sense coming from him, as the music he makes is difficult to pin down using genre terms. I'm obsessed with finding the correct combination of genres to describe certain bands but other times I just use "indie" for bands with totally different sounds like I did in this very review. It's like, what does that even MEAN?? It is something that has crossed my mind before but I don't really know how to remedy it. I just love segregating music too much.
As luck would have it, both Doug and I have been having the same reaction to the hordes of experimentation and envelope-pushing in every direction numbing our senses lately: a newly-strengthened appreciation for the craft of commercial catchiness. I'm not necessarily talking about 'pop music' the way most people use that term, but I'm not necessarily NOT talking about that. I've always been a sucker for sweet sounds but I used to think certain things, especially the more mainstream it was, were supposed to be 'guilty pleasures' for someone like myself who's supposedly so alternative and underground or whatever. But it's like why? This shit is a natural pleasure, it was written that way so people would like it. That's a quality that seems lost on certain sectors of songwriters. Doug agreed that attempting to make catchy music is way harder than it would seem because the end result is by its very nature very immediate and seemingly pre-made; but no, somebody made that whether it was the performing artist or a studio songwriter or whatever, it's a difficult craft. So many musicians and artists in general get concerned with cacophony or 'breaking new ground' or just kinda showing off how technical or bizarre they can be, and they either forget to make those little basic bugs that climb into your brain and stay there forever, or they never knew how to do that in the first place. Doug was talking about the value of restraint and I very much identified with that. "Sometimes more isn't better; it's just more."
To directly contradict that sentiment, we shared the bands we've been tripping on lately, both of whom have pretty rounded, layered sounds. He's been feeling on the Talking Heads lately and as everyone within shouting distance should know by now, I've been on a pretty harsh Fleetwood Mac binge for several months now. The sweet fullness of their melodies, the obvious yet also hidden 'rumours' that define their persona, I fucking LIVE for that shit.
"Sometimes I run. Sometimes I hide. Sometimes I'm scared of you, but all I really want is to hold you tight; treat you right; be with you day and night. Baby, all I need is time." - thanks for summing it up for me Britney. I'm not gonna deny my inclinations towards catchy-as-fuck melodies ANYMORE.
When everything was all packed up we went out by the van and chatted. Kyle Mouthful was still big chilling and we got to talking about the Smashing Pumpkins and how we love Billy Corgan although he's an arrogant piece of shit who talks shit on everything and is incredibly, embarassingly self-obsessed. (No wonder I latched onto SP at such an early age.) I joked with the Family Time kids about how dope the "Scream 2" soundtrack is (which is actually no joke) and we talked about LiveJournal and Xanga and MySpace and shit like that. The Internet personalities that, for many people, have been more emphatic livers than their physical personalities.
Crisis Arm drove Patty Limerent and I home and I babbled about things I have probably already discussed with them before.
It was kind of an awkward night, I'm increasingly awkward, but I had a pretty good time doing hoodrat stuff with my friends and that's what matters.
Eventually I got back in a conversation with the Family Time crew because I overheard Tyler say "I liked it better when I saw it in theatres and then I watched it again and it sucked." That sounded like a conversation that I would thrive in so I asked them what they were talking about; it was Ashton Kutcher's movie "The Butterfly Effect" that I never even made it all the way through when I tried to watch it once. ("I don't like movies")
We got to talking about the general phenomenon of no longer enjoying something the way that you used to and I recounted a similar case regarding the 90s punk band Good Riddance. When I was in like 6th or 7th grade I really liked them alot, they seemed so much more serious than the other Punk-O-Rama type bands and they have the kind of obvious, watered-down "Aimed Wrench" political lyrics that I used to eat the fuck up. Upon listening to like 3 Good Riddance CDs a few weeks ago when I was going through Mark Gravity's collection, however, it just seemed so played out and just not even close to the dopeness I had remembered.
Doug and I kinda broke off to discuss this further and he surmised it's like when you eat your favorite food way too much and then its like you can't eat it anymore. I related that in a way that's what's happened for me regarding punk and hardcore and metal and other 'extreme' musics; I overwhelmed myself and now everything just kind of blends together. Stuff I used to really enjoy, new stuff I probably would have been way more into a few years ago, it just doesn't hit me the same way anymore. He pointed out that genres are all so mixed and blended nowadays that kind-of everything seems less powerful than it used to. "Nothing's Shocking."
Homeboy was talking about how in alot of ways he doesn't like the use of genres, sees them as unnecessary or even misleading. That makes sense coming from him, as the music he makes is difficult to pin down using genre terms. I'm obsessed with finding the correct combination of genres to describe certain bands but other times I just use "indie" for bands with totally different sounds like I did in this very review. It's like, what does that even MEAN?? It is something that has crossed my mind before but I don't really know how to remedy it. I just love segregating music too much.
As luck would have it, both Doug and I have been having the same reaction to the hordes of experimentation and envelope-pushing in every direction numbing our senses lately: a newly-strengthened appreciation for the craft of commercial catchiness. I'm not necessarily talking about 'pop music' the way most people use that term, but I'm not necessarily NOT talking about that. I've always been a sucker for sweet sounds but I used to think certain things, especially the more mainstream it was, were supposed to be 'guilty pleasures' for someone like myself who's supposedly so alternative and underground or whatever. But it's like why? This shit is a natural pleasure, it was written that way so people would like it. That's a quality that seems lost on certain sectors of songwriters. Doug agreed that attempting to make catchy music is way harder than it would seem because the end result is by its very nature very immediate and seemingly pre-made; but no, somebody made that whether it was the performing artist or a studio songwriter or whatever, it's a difficult craft. So many musicians and artists in general get concerned with cacophony or 'breaking new ground' or just kinda showing off how technical or bizarre they can be, and they either forget to make those little basic bugs that climb into your brain and stay there forever, or they never knew how to do that in the first place. Doug was talking about the value of restraint and I very much identified with that. "Sometimes more isn't better; it's just more."
To directly contradict that sentiment, we shared the bands we've been tripping on lately, both of whom have pretty rounded, layered sounds. He's been feeling on the Talking Heads lately and as everyone within shouting distance should know by now, I've been on a pretty harsh Fleetwood Mac binge for several months now. The sweet fullness of their melodies, the obvious yet also hidden 'rumours' that define their persona, I fucking LIVE for that shit.
"Sometimes I run. Sometimes I hide. Sometimes I'm scared of you, but all I really want is to hold you tight; treat you right; be with you day and night. Baby, all I need is time." - thanks for summing it up for me Britney. I'm not gonna deny my inclinations towards catchy-as-fuck melodies ANYMORE.
When everything was all packed up we went out by the van and chatted. Kyle Mouthful was still big chilling and we got to talking about the Smashing Pumpkins and how we love Billy Corgan although he's an arrogant piece of shit who talks shit on everything and is incredibly, embarassingly self-obsessed. (No wonder I latched onto SP at such an early age.) I joked with the Family Time kids about how dope the "Scream 2" soundtrack is (which is actually no joke) and we talked about LiveJournal and Xanga and MySpace and shit like that. The Internet personalities that, for many people, have been more emphatic livers than their physical personalities.
Crisis Arm drove Patty Limerent and I home and I babbled about things I have probably already discussed with them before.
It was kind of an awkward night, I'm increasingly awkward, but I had a pretty good time doing hoodrat stuff with my friends and that's what matters.
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