Superchunk
Capitol City Dusters
Ivory Coast
@ Black Cat
Washington, DC
4/5/02
If there’s band that’s worth travelling long distances to see, it’s Superchunk. They’ve been around forever, are pretty damn DIY and have put one of their best records in their 12^th year. Not too fucking shabby. This was my first time at the new Black Cat and despite being hassled about being of age because my license was going to expire in two weeks (!!?!) it was a pretty good time.

Boston’s been a real hotbed of rock recently and the hooky indie rock of the Ivory Coast is a big reason for it’s renaissance. They started the evening off with most of the songs from their amazing sophomore release Clouds and rocked the bejesus out of the half-filled house. Good for The Capital City Dusters, as there weren’t nearly as many people to know how badly their set came off in comparison. The Dusters may well have been playing a "release set" to commemorate their new record that I think is on Dischord. I hope the Dischord names moves some records for them, because their boring live set and decidedly drony songs failed to impress me or the crowd very much at all.

The Chunk were in DC to play one of two dates before they go out to open up for The Get Up Kids next month (remind me to tell you about how the Get Up Kids are trying really, really hard to be considered the Get Up Adults sometime). Thing started off pretty average, but after the set "ended" and they came out for the "encore", it was revealed that Mac had really needed to pee. It must have been pretty cathartic, as the set picked up considerably post-wee-wee. Maybe it was the gauntlet thrown down by Jim’s impromptu cover of Doug Sahm’s Bring Back The Key To My Heart, or maybe they were just as irritated as I was by the presence of self-proclaimed "superfan" Tony, but they were on fire for an encore that lasted as long as the set. Drink in the irony of the Mighty Chunk being stared at by indifferent youngsters as they blow The Get Up Kids off the stage next month.

Bottle Rockets
@ NXNW
Philadelphia, PA
4/6/02
Doug Sahm may be gone, but his passing may have made him a bigger star in death than he was in life. Superchunk’s Jim Wilbur had played part of a Doug Sahm song the previous night at a show in Philly, whetting my appetite for some refried Sahm, but the Bottle Rockets set at NXNW was definitely the main course.

Hopes were not high when we pulled up in front of the swanky NXNW in yuppified West Philly. It’s more of a restaurant than a club and when you factor in the loss of longtime second guitarist Tom Parr a couple of weeks previously, you’d figure that the Bottle Rockets would be a little shaky. You’d be oh so very wrong. The owners of NXNW were lucky it was a restaurant, as the Bottle Rockets were hot enough to set off conventional fire alarms. They easily played for three hours, hitting all the high points of their old records and playing everything off their new Songs Of Sahm record. It’s no news that frontman Brian Henneman is an amazing guitarist and singer, but bassist Robert Kearns really has stepped up to the plate this time around. He sang his ass off on the Doug Sahm tunes and played enough great stuff that you forgot that Tom was even in the damn band.

There was much love for the men from Festus and they gave it back with a hell of an extended set. It didn’t hurt that Daylight Savings Time kicked in, but the crowd was drinking deeply and no sane barkeep would stop that tide. It was well after two when things ground to a halt, but no one was complaining a bit. Hear me now and believe me later, you should go see the Bottle Rockets whenever they play, but if you can see them on a Saturday night, there is no way you could have a bad time. Sunday morning, however, all bets are off.

Dillinger 4
Kill Your Idols
@ Knitting Factory
4/17/02
Despite the fact that this date marked my being another year closer to death, it was a hell of a good time. Someone at the Knitting Factory has a pretty great sense of humor. Booking one of the biggest straight-edge bands around to open up for the besotted Dillinger 4 is a genius stroke. One of the biggest problems with the straight-edge bands is that they don’t really have anything to blame their being assholes on. While Kill Your Idols are pretty good, truth be told, they sure are self-righteous. Not the normal, holier than thou level of young kid straight edge self-righteousness: straight up bitchy fat old hardcore guy self-righteousness. I guess they got along well enough with the D4 guys, but I’d give good money to be a fly on the wall backstage. The kids went pretty apeshit for them, but they were pretty cool nonetheless.

My personal high point was when pricky guitar playing Kill Your Idols guy took off his shirt and informed the crowd that this was his way of challenging the D4 guys. Ah, the vagaries of youth. The phrase "no comparison" comes to mind. I mean, like at all. The Dillinger 4 are hands-down drunker than the Kill Your Idols guys are straight-edge and have no qualms whatsoever about drinking the bar dry and getting more naked than you are guaranteed to be comfortable with while doing it. On top of the list of things that they also do regularly is rock your fucking jaded ass off. The boys from Minnesota are keeping the drunken rock legacy of Minneapolis alive. They’ve got a new record coming out on Fat that is worth pawning your grandma’s jewelry to get, but’s not out for a bit. In the meantime, seek out the Dillinger 4 wherever they play and worship their greatness.

Carla Bozoulich featuring The Nels Cline Singers
@ Tonic
4/19/02
If you’re like me (and for your sake I hope you’re not) you’re on geeky music groups on the Interweb. Amidst the offers of penis growth creams and mortgages cluttering my inbox, I found a little post promoting Carla Bozoulich’s tour playing Willie Nelson’s 1977 concept record The Red Headed Stranger in it’s entirety at Tonic. The fact that it was with Nels Cline almost offset the fact that it was at Tonic. I don’t get out to the Knitting Factory North all that often, but probably should more, as it’s a nice room and always has good sound, it’s just that the hipster quotient is often at critical mass. But then again, Nels Cline is probably the best guitar player of the last 30 years, easily the Hendrix of the late last century. He played with Carla in the Geraldine Fibbers and they currently cohabitate. Any other duo purporting to cover a whole Willie Nelson record at Tonic would be cause for alarm, but these two deserve a shot.

This was evidently a warm-up tour to tighten things up before going in to the studio to record. I’d pay good money to have a tape of the set. While the record was covered in its entirety, it was thoroughly deconstructed into a beautiful grotesque. Backed my violin, drums and acoustic bass (the aforementioned Nels Cline Singers, and no they don’t sing) they transformed the narrative into modern country noir, with Carla’s otherworldly voice driving it all. The set would be a perfect opening for the new Wilco tour.

They are in the studio as we speak committing the set to tape and will tour again in the Fall. Neither should be missed.

Alkaline Trio
Piebald
@ Bowery Ballroom
4/23/02
You’ve got to give the Alkaline Trio props. They tour constantly and are always busting their ass to bring their music to the masses. Their recent split with Hot Water Music is pretty damn great, and both Danny and Matt have solo splits coming out in the near future. Plus, they are doing the Warped Tour this summer and the Vagrant tour in the Spring. Not too fucking shabby. They’ve got a new guy in the drum seat that seems to be a better match in Derek from the late Suicide Machines and are built for speed. This wasn’t their best show, with Danny being pretty stoned and Matt having some issues with remembering his lyrics, but it didn’t stop the kids from yelling and screaming or jumping on stage to kiss Matty. Good work if you can get it.

All things being equal, it would have been better if Piebald hadn’t opened up, as they rocked the hell of the adoring crowd like they were headlining. Seems like the breakup did them good, the new record We Are The Only Friends We Have is their best yet, and must do yeoman duty in filling the hole in Big Wheel Rec’s roster left by the departure of the Jimmy Eat World. There are charismatic and engaging live and have great songs that are as hooky as all get out, just the way they should be. You probably have already seen they play out, as they are always touring, but there’s no reason not to see them again. See you there.

The Casket Lottery
Hotcross
Life Detecting Coffins
@ ABC NO RIO
4/24/02
This has been a banner year for me when it comes to shows at ABC. Not sure why I haven’t gone more often, with it being about a block from my house and all, but I’ve been trying to rectify that lately. Not that ABC’s non-existent promotion helps any. I had seen dates posted for the Casket Lottery’s show for a couple months, but it never was listed on the web site, they don’t answer the phone, and there were no fliers posted outside. Good job guys. And you wonder why bands starve on the road. Another reason might be the lack of anyone to sell tickets. I walked in as the Life Detecting Coffins finished their set and didn’t pay a red cent. This didn’t bother me too much, as I am the merch table’s friend, but come on guys. Hotcross batted second and went crazy for a half hour or so. They were tight and sounded pretty good, but the lack of any vocals whatsoever in the PA really took away from the whole thing. Get a compressor on the vocals for chrissakes! The lack of vocals really stymied the Casket Lottery’s set as well. With a big show in Boston the next day, there wasn’t too much inclination for these sons of Kansas to lose their voices for twenty people for lack of a good PA, but they put in a good show. Hopefully we’ll get them in town at Brownies later on in the Summer and some vocals to boot. The new records good, and with the Get Up Kids abandoning the sound they created to pursue a more adult direction, we could see the Casket Lottery blow up really big in the next year. The new record, Survival Is For Cowards, is out now on Second Nature. It’s a good one, go out and buy it so we have a chance of seeing them on the East Coast again soon.