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Wire-Chairs Missing
Joy Division-Closer
Digible Planets-Reachin’ (a new refutation of time and space)Quote:The Aislers Set – How I learned to write backwarGood album, especially Mission Bells, Langour in the Balcony, and Through the Swells. Awesome live show as well.
B52’s=s/t
X-Under the Big Black Sun
Refused-The Shape of Punk to Come
Buzzcocks-Another Music in a Different Kitchen.Wire-Pink Flag
New Pornographers-Mass Romantic
Bjork-Post
The Buzzcocks-Another Music in a Different KitchenGrandaddy/Elbow/Starlight Mints. The Pagaent, October 11, 2003
Starlight Mints-Another slightly psychodelic retro-rock band. I’m a sucker for this style of music, so it was a good time. They earned the TShirt for the night. I was dancing with vague acquaintences Greg and Angie when Nick and Charlotte decided to show up. Oddly enough, the same couple from the Yo La Tengo show was at this one as well, and they were still a/be-mused at my bad dancing.
Elbow-Get over it man. The first few songs weren’t so bad, but they seemingly decided to play those songs a second time. There’s the slow, remourseful dirge, the slow, remorseful dirge, and then they played a slow, remourseful dirge. Singer loses points for having a music stand onstage. Singer AND guitarist lose points for taking to long to switch instruments between EVERY FUCKING SONG. Guy in front of me loses points for taking thorough notes on the show. Beatle Bob doesn’t lose any points, Beatle Bob is cool.
Nick Leaving in a Huff because I smooched his ex.-Quite entertaining in hindsight, although I missed the first Grandaddy song because we had to get Charlotte’s purse.
Grandaddy-Not bad at all, showed old cartoons, random "home video footage," and various oddities on the big screen, a nice change from the bizarre "artsy" footage shown by the previous acts. Overall I enjoyed the set, I’m not intimately familiar with Grandaddy’s material, but my only criticism of the band is that every song has the same ending. Still, it was a lot of fun.
After the show, I gave Charlotte a ride home. We sat in the car across the street from her house (mostly) talking. At one point somebody said "I wonder what time it is?" I turned the car on. The clock read 4:40.
Shit.
Belle and Sebastian-Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Beach Boys-Pet Sounds
New Pornographers-Mass Romantic
Wire-Pink Flag
Buzzcocks-Another Music in a Different KitchenBeat Happening-Bad Seeds,
Yo La Tengo-Sugarcube, Nothing But You and Mefuck it, just play "Rock Lobster"
-A mutt Telecaster, made from parts of other Fender Telecasters. ’50’s reissue neck, Mexi (?) body in wine, left handed six saddle bridge, nocaster pickups. I reset the control plate so it’s (neck to bridge) vol, tone, toggle. $3XX.
-A Roland VG 5 amp. Dropped off the shipping truck, had damaged on off switch and fucked up frame. $50 from mars music (remember them?).
Johnny Cash-16 Biggest Hits (Columbia
Johnny Cash-Greatest! (Sunn)
–A little Country for a newly single man, they didn’t have any good Hank Williams Sr. or Patsy Cline
The Clean-Anthology
Girl Trouble-Illusion of Fun
Centro*Matic-I’ll Love You Just the SameUm. . .I got the new Aislers Set at the Yo La Tengo show. . .
Nothing recently, I’m waiting for Johnny Cash to go out of style so’s I can buy his stuff without looking too bandwagonesque.
Black Leather (not suede) Chucks
$16 at a secondhand store.
Never seen another pair like themand a vintage Disneyland Jersey/shirt
and an IGA polo shirt.Yo La Tengo w/ the Aislers Set
@The Pagaent (St. Louis)
September 25, 2003The Pagaent is a big venue, but not to terribly big, so I was surprised to find the place half empty. The Balcony was actually closed. I managed to find my mate Nick and his (sometimes) girlfriend Charlotte Sitting at a bar facing the stage, smoking away.
The Aislers Set took the stage at about eight. From my vantage it was (left to right) Jen Cohen (keys) , Amy Linton (guitars, vocals, trumpet), Alicia Vanden Heuvel (bass, vocals, my future wife), Wyatt Cusik (lead guitar, xylophone), with drummer Yoshi stuck in the back. The Bands sound, kind of a ’00’s Beach Boys with girl singers, was enoough to get Charlotte to drag Nick down to the floor within two songs. This gave me an excuse to fanboy the merch booth, as well as a chance to put my new Yo La Tengo shirt on under the shirt I was wearing (nobody wants to be that guy. I wandered down to the floor for the rest of the bands set.
For the geeks out there: Amy Played a Guild Starfire XII into a pair of Silvertone amps, except the last few songs during which she played a Fender Mustang/Duosonic. Alicia played a Squire Bronco bass with a replacement pickup into a Silverface Fender Bassman. Wyatt Played a Fender Jazzmaster through a Tuner, a Rat, and a Boss EQ pedal into a Fender combo (I think a Pro Reverb).
***
After the Aislers set, I gave a smoke to a passing stranger. After a while I was ‘informed’ (I’m not completely dense) that I was being "eyed." Charlotte, who informed me of this fact, decided that we should meet. And thus I was literally pushed at a complete stranger. Stilted conversation, stilted conversation, what shows are you going to, blah blah. Then I say "And, of course, the Pixies are back together"
"WHAT," she says
"The Pixies are back together"
"No fucking way"
"Yes, it was on Pitchforkmedia. (calling) Hey Nick, are the Pixies getting back together?"
Nick (walking over), "yes they are"
Girl with plugs behind me "Wait, are the Pixies really getting back together"
etc. It was much funnier last night. Almost as funny as Yo La Tengo’s Acapella song (forget the name), Acapella. . .With hand gestures and synchronized Dancing.
And what about Yo La Tengo, Malcom, how were they?
They were Beatific.
Ira’s Fender amps and guitar equipment were stage right, Jame’s Ampeg amp and another fender amp were Stage left, behind the racks of keys and, I believe, a sampler of some sort. Georgia’s kit was in the middle, with a smaller set in front of it. The band played a long set, with Ira’s guitarsolos being some of the best cacophonies ever. He switched guitars nearly every song, mainly playing his Natural Strat and a Fiesta Red Jazzmaster. James played the same sunburst seventies Jazz Bass the whole night. And I danced! But I wasn’t alone. I know you’re supposed to stand in one place and maybe nod your head, but there was a fair amount of movement in the crowd at this show, especially from local legand and habitual show-goer "Beatle Bob."
The second encore was a personal favorite, as Ira asked particular members of the audience what songs they wanted. More importantly, they asked Nick what he wanted to hear, both of us shouted "SugarCube" and it was good, with Ira taking an extended guitar solo, and Georgia doing a great drum-solo thing.
After one more song, the show was over, Ira saying "you kids have school in the morning." And then he stuck around the merch table for a while, talking and shaking hands and signing my tshirt and drivers license ("I’m Sure this isn’t legal")And then Nick, Charlotte, and I went out and had breakfast at the courtesy Diner, where the food is pretty damn cheap and the jukebox plays Patsy Cline, James Brown, Johnny Cash, and Pink.
