And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Tuesday, Oct. 30
For about 14 years Trail of Dead has been taking us back to the good old days. And by “good old days,” I mean the post punk/indie rock of…errr, 14 to 19 years ago, especially the soft and pretty to impassioned sonic boom of Sonic Youth and Unwound with a generous sprinkling of drum fills. Mix that in with a little Jesus Lizard-style live chaos and you’ve got the vibe of Trail of Dead. You see, awhile back the Dead (Trail of, not Grateful) were known for shows that ended in the destruction of instruments, banners and whatever else happened to be in the way. This got them banned from a few clubs, smooshed by a few bouncers and helped grab a little extra interest from those who wanted a show within a show.
Well this particular show was the most bucolic that I’ve seen yet. Now that didn’t mean that it was bad, though the vocals sounded strained often and the sound uneven. The crowd was a little slow to warm up, but once drummer/sometimes guitarist/sometimes vocalist Jason Reece decided to contribute his vocals from within the audience it did the trick.
After the show, shots were purchased for the band by strangers, backs were slapped, congrats were given. It wasn’t like the show in 1998 when the band caused multiple jaws to drop with their reckless performance (nobody was hurt) at the tiny Los Angeles club the Silverlake Lounge (you may see my dangling jaw in the Spin Magazine photo taken at said show). Tonight it seemed restrained, but perhaps the band had things on their minds. The day after the Congress show, the band announced they were leaving their longtime label Interscope for lack of promotion. Scary.
Halloween! Oct. 31 at Club Congress
After all the build up, Halloween can be a bit of a letdown. But a night of bon bon shaking at Bang! Bang! amidst costume contests and drink specials usually keeps the momentum going. But the best thing about Halloween night? The costumes. This year was a bit lackluster compared to last year – the aforementioned too many pirates and sexy nursies and other uncreative getups were aplenty, however there were a few dicks in boxes (I guess YouTube has kept it alive), a couple of Teen Wolves, a Lt. Dangle, an 8-foot-tall grim reaper and the excitement, no, horror of my Ipod commercial costume being mistaken for blackface. Or was it the night nobody got my Ghouls Gone Wild outfit? I can’t remember. No, it was the former.
At an after party, I clung to a friend who was in whiteface in order to cancel myself out just in case, but nobody cared. One of those bodies was a young man in a blazer and ski hat. After asking what he was, I was surprised to hear him say, “Hang on,” just before running off. He returned with a white substance smeared all over his lips and for the rest of the night kept in perfect, twitchy limbed, squeaky voiced character as Tyrone, the crack head from Chappelle’s show. I don’t know what the highlight was – that or seeing someone jump off the roof into the pool. Or was this last Saturday? How can one know with so many damn Halloweens?
Tegan & Sara- Thursday, Nov. 1 at the Rialto
I arrived just in time to hear the beginning of the golden throated twins’ first song, which was followed by the first of many impromptu and hilarious in-between-song narratives.
Damn, those girls could charm the paint of a Chrysler with their sweet, sometimes cheeky and always endearing anecdotes. My favorite of which was Tegan describing how their mother had waited in their minivan in a parking lot all night, while the twins waited in line for Smashing Pumpkins tickets. The chattier sister was nearly choked up with emotion as she mused over how touched she was in hindsight. But she told the whole tale in such a beguiling and comical manner that the laughs were nonstop. So audiences are treated to a standup comedy act and a concert packed with melodic, heart-on-the-sleeve songs all at once.
Besides the parking lot campout story, the other touching thing was hearing the girls remember their last show in Tucson. It was across the street at Club Congress for a crowd under 100 people over two years ago. Back then, every one of those people left impressed, as being in the presence of those unique harmonies is truly the best way to absorb Tegan & Sara and probably every one of those people were back to see them play in front of a basically sold-out Rialto Theatre. And even though their new Mountain-championed album isn’t in rotation in my CD player, I couldn’t help but feel proud.
Dance of the Dead/ Fourkiller Flats – Friday, Nov. 2 at Congress and Plush
Day of the Dead – Tribal drumming, serious people in costumes and lingering Halloween decorations greeted us at Club Congress where Dance of the Dead was getting off to a slow start. But a rare set by locals Fourkiller Flats at Plush beckoned.
Loveland was onstage, with singer Dave Bryan crooning away about dusty roads and long lost loves in a deep, road weary voice. This complimented headliners Fourkiller Flats perfectly. The latter being a more upbeat soundtrack for drinking at a rustic bar by yourself 10 minutes before last call.
Though Fourkiller Flats don’t play a whole helluva lot, you’d never know by the way they performed. Their set was as smooth and effortless as top shelf tequila. Hopefully, we won’t have to wait as long for the next shot.
Calexico at Bookman’s Party in the Park – Saturday, Nov. 3 at the Reid Park Bandshell
Is Bookman Bob not the kindest man alive? As if it’s not enough that he should offer us discounted books, magazines, CDs, Nintendos, etc., but he also insists on shooting T-shirts at us from a device that could have been found in a secret stockpile of illegal weaponry and throwing a daylong music festival to show his appreciation for 30 years of patronage. And did I mention that it was free?
The hill above the bandshell was coated with families, couples and friends enjoying the disturbingly warm November weather and music, which ranged from country to blues to Latin…and then finally to Calexico, who is a bit of all of the above.
Tucson’s current musical claim to fame had the stage warmed up by Mariachi Luz de Luna, the best of their kind in town. While MLdL blew effortlessly from one traditional mariachi song to the next, a highly inebriated family in front of the stage shamelessly sang along at the tops of their lungs, peppering the lyrics with the obligatory “AHHH Has” and “Ay yis.” They also screamed out what one can only assume was praise, but their words were so slurred it was nearly impossible to tell. The noise was so obtrusive it even distracted the band slightly, but the mood was jolly and amiable and the rest of the crowd gathered under the harsh glare of the stage lights merely chuckled.
The Calexicans scooted Luz de Luna off stage to play a set of newer songs (one of which featured a downright Grateful Deadish jam – ay yi yi, indeed!) and old favorites, all executed flawlessly. The climaxes were so dead on that you could feel them hit even the grass dwellers sprawled the furthest spots on the hill, spurring them to rise and dance.
Best moments – when the stage became delightfully cozy with 15 players, including Mariachi Luz de Luna, the beloved Salvador Duran, a Spaniard friend of a friend on additional guitar and some tourists who had taken a wrong turn; the Love cover; front man Joey Burn’s strange song introduction about the Pima Air and Space Museum’s basement and his new hip-hop style “Hey! Ho! Jump! Jump!” gestures intended to get the crowd pistoning. It worked, though…just like everything else the event offered – lemonade, nice weather, a comfy spot on a grassy knoll, pizza, free T-shirts ricocheting everywhere, a beaming Bookman Bob and some mighty fine music. All at an agreeable price.
Would we expect anything less from Bookman’s?
