Thursday nights in Raleigh holds a well defined and strictly enforced tradition of hitting Local Beer, Local Band at Tir Na Nog Irish Pub in City Market. There are several factors: It is free. It is close to my home. It is most usually bands I have seen or would like to see. The crowd is usually on the low-douchey end of the spectrum. Wednesdays and then eventually Thursday afternoons see a typical exchange between Roo and I which mostly includes text messages asking A) Who is playing LBLB this week? B) What time are we heading up? It's never really a question of who, the point is we go. We always go. We support local music, we like the scene, it's free.
There were several lessons/revelations learned at this week's LBLB;
1) I, at one point or another, have been drunk with or met drunkenly at least one member for every band in existence.
2) Jamesons on an empty stomach when work starts at 7am the next day is never a good idea.
3) Bringing a guy you are dating and easily distracted by to a show of which you intend to write your first ever show review blog post is never a good idea.
4) Getting so drunk you forget to watch the band you intend to review is non-productive.
5) For the bajilliionth time ever I found myself thinking about how lucky I am to have Roo as a friend.
There is one thing I really like the absolute most about these oddball LBLB shows with bands that have been around and never really gone anywhere (as for as I know?) but continue to play out... First of all, Bless 'em for their perseverance. But mostly it's this; The One SuperFan factor. Go see any band in Any Town, USA and I promise you there will always be the One SuperFan right up front while the dance floor is clear and this person will know EVERY song and this person will love EVERY song. this person will "WOO!" louder than anyone. this person loves this band. It may be the lead guitarist's mom, the drummer's ex-girlfriend, the LV's ex-roommate from college... whoever this person is, this person loves this band and will never miss a show. I have been the One SuperFan; and there are a couple bands that I would never miss to see and I have never been ashamed to love out loud solo. so when I go see a band I just don't connect with, I see the One SuperFan and this person always makes me give whoever is on stage a little bit of a chance.
The guy in the jean jacket is REALLY down with Antibubbles.
In the left corner (headbanging!) is Angela. Angela FUCKIN LOVES THE Ts MAN!!! WOOO!!!!
This past week's LBLB performers, Antibubbles and The T's each had at least one One SuperFan. I knew that if there was at least one person who really loved these guys, I could give them a chance. I gave these guys as much of a chance as my unnumbered shots of whiskey would permit. I won't lie, somewhere in the middle of The T's set, it all became a blur and goofy things started to happen.
Antibubbles were powerpop. However, a quick perusal of their myspace music page tells us their genre is: Concrete / Ghettotech / Hawaiian. One can only assume they're joking. I certainly heard no ukulele and WTF is Concrete? More shit for me to google... I didn't hate these guys. Additionally, the guy I've been hanging out with bought their vinyl, so I can only assume they are semi-descent as I trust his musical opinion (which is rare.) I would definitely give these guys another listen, but I wasn't blown off my rocker. Tolerable, yet not mind blowing. Powerpop can be really hit or miss with me. It's too easily tune-out-able. Note: cute band! LV = Cute! Keyboard girl = Adorable!
The T's! I have a semi-problem with seeing the T's as I have a stupid loyalty issue with the Ex-drummer who is a dear friend of mine. I considered trying to talk him into an interview and trying to get him to talk me out of going to see them. I had a theory that an anti-review of a show would *almost* be as cool as the review itself. However, this didn't happen.... Maybe some other time.
As the T's took the stage, things became clear. THIS is why I got drunk with Lutie so many time at Landmark, because she was in the band with the bartender. well, duh. then I formulated revelation number one as listed before. funny. then I realized I hadn't really seen the T's play out before. They are one of those local bands that have been around so long I just assumed I had seen them. I apparently hadn't. and they rock! (sorry, Gary.) It was around this time that I became more focused on stumbling drunkenly, focusing on the fellow and his inexhaustible cuteness, and then becoming utterly obsessed with talking everyone around me into coming outside for a cigarette.... these things happen. I'm sorry I can't tell you more about the T's except that I kept turning around to people and repeating the same thing (drunk stutter) which was along the lines of "Why haven't I seen these guys before?" / "Is Gary going to hate me for liking them?" / "FUCKIN' TAMBOURINE SOLO, MAN!" / "Come have a cigarette with me." I'm not sure if it was the whiskey or the fact these guys know what they are doing, but I am certainly going to make an effort to see the T's again. The magic of the internet tells me they will be at DIVEbar on Jan 28th. I have added this show to my tentative iphone show calendar. To be confirmed.
additional photos:
Hey! This is the bassist from Antibubbles, Joe. Thanks for the write up. Found your blog from a 'google alert' on our name. We've got a bunch of shows booked in the area, so hopefully we'll run into you again and have a chance to knock you off your rocker on round 2. Hope your friend enjoys the disc. :-)
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