Dirty Wars - Crucifix styled hardcore with some DRI type singing. This form was already tired when the Black Cat opened. These guys seemed young, so this was some nice experience on stage to learn from and hopefully grow from and get an easy to find web presence.
Autograph by Proxy - I am not sure how serious this outfit takes itself, but they delivered a fun little set. Old school sleaze punk with some hip hop moves and whatever they found in the kitchen sink went into these couple of songs. Mixed style, mixed genre, mixed gender, mixed age... I will always enjoy something like this, especially when it is a short in your face jolt.
Raindeer - Two people on keyboards/electronics with a guitarist and bass/keyboardist. This was high quality dreamy synth pop. I do like electronica when the band has the vocals and pop tunes to keep interest high. This icy band had all of that. They could easily hold my interest for a full hour set based on this nice sampling tonight.
Looters DC - A casual set here for this trio who just did some fun punk covers as much for their entertainment as ours. The Damned's "Wait for the Blackout" was a good reminder that we will get a better version of this on October 3rd on this very stage.They also did Agent Orange's "Bloodstains", the Dickies' "Manny, Moe & Jack", and the Circle Jerks' "Back Against the Wall". A set that was a nice extension of all the great punk tunes the DJ was playing tonight.
Booze Riot - Good old call and response style hardcore here, straight out of "This is Boston, not LA" amongst other scenes of the era. Kind of fun with a bit more variety and skill than most, so a good listen for this festive evening.
State Violence - The DJ does seem to be pretty sharp tonight playing a Discharge song just before this band named after half a Discharge song. Fast, furious hardcore a bit too brutal to be interesting for very long. Antisect covering the first Meat Puppets records? Think about. The room thinned out a bit for some reason during this set.
Oh So Peligroso - Thankfully I get to see this band after cutting out early on their Ft. Reno show. I won't last much longer tonight, but I want to see what this four-piece can do. Plenty. This was an excellent set with good punk, pop and hard post punk moves going on in their catchy little songs. Their vocalist is up to the task of hanging on to the melody while handling the volume requirements to stay atop the loud raucous the other three create. Playful and powerful--a band I will gladly see again some time, and I'm sure there will be plenty of other people joining me.
Garland of Hours and Max Levine Ensemble - I was dead tired almost all night, so I needed to cut out early. I have enjoyed the first band previously as I showed in this review. And as for the Max Levine outfit, they are a solid established part of the DC scene and will likely be playing again at the Black Cat some day soon.
Quote of the Night: From the singer of Oh So Peligroso... "The Black Cat is 18 years old today. (guitarist) Mike can actually hook up with them now." Mike: "Don't tell Dante."
Maybe some day I will dig deeper into the club scene as I have thought about doing a feature on what I like and don't like about the various clubs I frequent. I will say that the Black Cat will have far more positives than negatives. They book well, run things smoothly and bring lots of great local and touring bands to the attention of DC music fans. I am over 50 times a year myself and don't see any reason to slow down. Long may they be a part of the DC scene.
4 comments:
Hey David, this is Andrew from Oh So Peligroso. We wanted to thank you for coming out and showing support for the Black Cat and all the acts that played that night. We really appreciate your review, and would like to extend an open invitation to come hang out at any of our upcoming shows - drinks are on us!!
Thank you, actually. It was a fun night, kind of like a tasting menu with so many bands doing short sets. And for $5, who can complain? So thanks to the bands and the Black Cat for having a nice showcase like this.
Hey David,
Had to respond to your "get an easy to find web presence" quote at the end of your Dirty Wars set review. This may come as a shock, but some bands don't give a rat's ass about having a web presence. They care about playing music in a live setting and letting that speak for itself. It's actually refreshing. Websites/myspace/facebook only propagate the bullshit that sullies the visceral experience of playing music. Loosen up dude.
Hey Kraken, I am loose and not at all shocked by bands choosing to stay off the web. But being that we are both using the web to discuss this, and as a reviewer, I'll stick with my point. I find some of these integrity arguments powerful, others not so. I don't see how Websites "only propogate the bs, etc." What they do is help get you there to enjoy the visceral experience of hearing live music. Bands can control their message or stay underground if they like. It's ok with me, but I may not find a good band if they choose the latter. Thank you for giving voice to your position in a respectful manner, too. I appreciate it and this is a legitimate topic that can be fleshed out a bit. Perhaps I will chat with some of these bands some time.
Post a Comment