2001-05-16 - 3:28

Fried chicken and coffee

Well, I didn't take off from work as early as I was hoping to; but I still had time to get together with Jian for supper before the Nashville Pussy concert. Proper!

First things first: it was great to see Jian again. It had been too long. Being as unimaginative as ever, we again found ourselves having supper at the Korea Garden. Predictable, yes, but we both love the food and the place is along the way between Jian's apartment and Barrymore's. So, that was a fun last minute addition to the day.

Then came the concert itself. If you've ever read my journal after a concert, you know the drill: I'll come up with a full-blown review later; but I'll add some personal observations here first.

Before the doors opened, I saw NP drummer Jeremy Thompson outside the club; but I didn't have anything witty to say, so I left him alone after overhearing his tales of problems crossing the border.

Inside, I took a stool near the floor, since nobody was actually venturing onto the floor. I pretty much stayed put for the opening act, Ottawa's own Big Jeezus Truck. I wish I hadn't, though--their set rocked and it would have been fun to move to it.

I am still somewhat shy, though, even at concerts. I don't mind leading the charge on the floor when there are other people around; and I wasn't at all bothered at the concerts that people in the crowd started laughing at me. (Who says I can't headbang at a punk show, when the rest of the chumps are standing still?) However, I still couldn't get myself to head out on the completely empty floor, especially when I didn't know the songs.

I can say, though, that I was impressed by the band. By contrast, the middle act, Tricky Woo, was somewhat of a disappointment. I had heard about the band for a while; but their live set did little for me. I couldn't get into the jams that came up with almost every tune. I'm not opposed to those exercises--I loved the musical showcase that ended The Roots performance at Fresh Fest--but I need to respect the rest of the material enough to justify the indulgence. I don't mean to slag the band too much, since they played a decent set; but they just weren't for me.

In the breaks before and after Tricky Woo, I spent some time talking to a guy from the radio station XFM. First, he did an interview with me, about the band. I told him that "She's Got the Drugs" would be a good tune to hear on the radio. Yeah, that's likely. Heheh.

After the interview, we talked about a few things. I wonder if I was more eloquent than he expected from a guy with purple hair, a silly-ass goatee, and a T-shirt that says, "High as Hell"? He told me that I was very unpretentious, which I thought was cool (and hopefully true). He also had some interesting stories, including one about getting fired from a previous gig because of an on-air argument with Tommy Lee. How much of a rob job is it to get canned because of Tommy Lee?

We chatted until Nashville Pussy took the stage, at which point I had to get in the mix. It turned out to be one of the cooler moshes that I've been in. For the first couple of songs, the crowd was somewhat tame. I was headbanging and hopping around and a few others were into it, but there was no real mosh.

Eventually, though, a bit of slamming broke out, which proved to be very fun. My theory that any mosh includes the same percentage of boneheads was false tonight. There weren't that many people really going at it; but everyone was well behaved and the vibe was great. Even at the buffer zone at the edge of the mosh, usually a source of friction, everyone was cool.

On the whole, I'd call my performance solid. I've pushed myself harder before (Rollins, for example); but tonight I stayed in it quite well from start to finish. I should've stretched more--my back cramped up a bit early on--and I did run out of gas somewhat; but I still was more energetic than practically anyone there.

I think that the guy in the plaid shirt may have outworked me. However, I was the only one able to sing along with the chorus, headbang on the right beats, and ignite the mosh right on the tempo changes. "Go To Hell" was a particularly fun song.

I only saw one girl in the mosh, although she was quite cute and certainly held her own. Someday . . . sigh. Heh. Of course, there was enough visual stimulation on stage. Ruyter started the show with a top proclaiming "Keep on Fuckin'," which she promptly took off. The new bassist lacked the stage presence of Corey Parks; but she did a solid job.

Overall, my third time seeing Nashville Pussy was as fun as expected. They still weren't as over the top as when I first caught them live; but the music was at least as strong. No band members spit beer on me this time, either; but I did get some much appreciated water splashed my way. Just like after the first show, I caught a water bottle that Ruyter tossed into the crowd as a souvenier. Oh, I also snagged my first ever set list:

Okay, that's probably an overkill entry. These are the times I really enjoy, though, so I like to capture the details. As I mentioned, if anybody is actually interested in hearing about the concert itself, instead of about me, I'll whip up a real review sometime after bed.

And, speaking of which, since it was a long show that ended too late for me to catch the quick bus home, I'm definitely overdue for sleep. Goodnight.

J.