I had such a decision to make, and in retrospect I think I made the right one. Thursday night there was a show I have been very excited for and longing to see. BATHS was playing with Star Slinger at the Duke Coffee house. I love Baths. Star Slinger is probably one of my favorite DJs of the now. There were a few drawbacks: 1) School night 2) Durham 3) Duke coffeehouse, to my memory is very small 4) no presale of tickets, they were only being sold at the door. As I had absolutely no gauge as to how many people may have interest in this show or how full it could get, I didn't know when I should get there; If the show as at 10, do I get there at 7 to line up and make sure I get a ticket? could I walk in and get one at 10? I didn't know and I didn't want to waste a whole evening standing around in the cold in Durham, making sure I could get into this show. there were just too many "ifs"... Then the clincher; dammit. Gray Young announced they were playing Local Beer Local Band the same night... aw hell; no need to ponder the decision... I was going to Tir na Nog; .........GRAY YOUNG YAAAAY!
Other people seemed kinda into it. Is this the whole band? Did the whole rest of the band bail? The review I read said something about horns and strings and nothing about just one dude. What happened here? Roo seemed to like this a lot, he asked for the camera and snapped a pic or two. I did my whole, I HAVE FRIENDS HERE I AM DRINKING LETS GO HAVE A CIGARETTE thing through this set. (PS - I've decided I'm going to stop apologizing to bands I ignored. but this is where I would do such a thing, I if I still did such a thing.)
HOWM? WHAT YOU MEAN?
The lineup was not as advertised, (no big deal this time, phew!) and so Gray Young was up next. Just in time Jay and Luc the Unicorn (Of Halloween Caribou Misadventures fame,) arrived. So many friends! Much needed. Love you guys!
Luc the Lionheart. One of the best people I know! <3 <3
As the boys began, I did what I do; I got right down front and left my friends somewhere lost in the crowd behind me. As per usual, here is a GY digression: As I told you in my last post, my Grandfather passed away this past weekend. My brother and I drove up together (to Mt. Airy) and about 5 minutes into the trip, I had the brilliant idea to share GY with him, as he is probably one of my select few overzealous U2 fan comrades; we listened for the entire 2.5 hour trip. In between talking about engine sizes and quoting The Highlander back and forth to each other, we interjected with comments and compliments to the band. I can't say 100%, but i think we have another convert! yay!
One of the greatest things I am learning about seeing Gray Young is the handful of us at the front who LOVE GRAY YOUNG. I love us. we are the Superfans. It's nice to know you aren't alone in your obsessive adoration. So before the GY set, I was informed by both Dan and Dana (Dopko's GF) that Chas had, in fact, read my last review and was particularly amused by my soulmate comment. My only (drunken) response: "YOU TELL HIM - NO TALKING! DON'T SPOIL THIS FOR ME!" Apparently soulmate had other resources at his disposal... During the performance of Vermilion, the song of which I went on my gushy tirade in my last GY post, he positioned himself right in front of me. This might have been a challenge, an invitation, a mockery, a complete coincidence magnified by my overactive imagination and alcohol consumption, but mostly all i could think was:
HE KNOWS.
We got all the ones in on this set, maybe an encore, as my set list that i burgled ends with Tilling the Wind, which is not, to my recollection, the song we ended on. I had tempted fate and myself by actually filming a video of this set (one song - Meridian) but it is literally unwatchable. It is shaky like I have Parkinson's, I am standing directly in front of a monitor, and I am hollering "WOOOO!" literally every 28 seconds (approximately). I won't torture you with its poor quality, however I may upload it later for poos and hahas.
to be sold on eBay in approximately 2021 for $4,000+.
This set's emotional response for me was magnified by the fact that I now know I have a GY army. I have seen Dana and James at other shows, and we have a couple that weren't present this night, but they do exist!
For Realsies: The magnitude of this performance was also magnified by the presence of so many close friends who i adore. But mostly the depth of gratitude I felt in being present for this show was intensified by my recent loss and how raw I felt/feel. I am a person who honestly likes to dwell on pain, it influences me, it propels me, sometimes i like being sad. sometimes I like to poke bruises to see if they still hurt as bad as they did last time. I don't know if this quality in me can be easily lumped into the "she just emo" category... I think it has more to do with the "I accept and understand the necessity of pain and mortality too well not to tempt, acknowledge, romanticize and roll it around on my tongue every so often." I do know this... after the week I just had, Gray Young poked my bruise. and it was a good hurt. I needed it. Thank you, boys.
NO TOUCHING OF THE GRAY YOUNG, BLONDIE
PS -FIX YO BARRETTE
I can't be sure, but I think I am being seduced.
Next; Roo's newly and sternly proclaimed "New Favorite Local Band!"... The Big Picture! These guys are mesmerizing! The first time we saw them was at Moving Island and we were kinda smitten, and If puppy love was blooming at that show, I think we both may be having a deeply intense love affair with this band at the moment. I had asked Roo to write his review of this part of the show for two reasons: I am dying to see what passionate response this band has brought out in him & I really enjoy his writing. And I had hit my "I forgot what my true mission in being here point" and was perhaps a little too tipsy to focus. SO HEY I FOUND SEAMUS!
Seamus Kenney of EVERY BAND EVER fame.
I like his quote about this picture: "I look like an Irish Rasputin"
I can tell you this: Jonny Tunnell may have one of the BEST voices I've ever heard live. This band's sound is so eclectic I have to wonder how in the world they even figured out what to do? Like ..."okay one... two... three... EVERYBODY PLAY SOMETHING AMAZING!" and it just happened. Of all the instruments on stage and all the noises coming from all over the place, I can't even name the sounds. Am I hearing a washboard and someone blowing over the top of a pop bottle? Is someone playing the monkey sticks and a slide whistle at the same time? What in god's name is up with the almost unbearably hot shirtless black guy playing the drums back there? How did this band happen? I know Roo can and will write a better Roo-view about what we saw here. I am still in the deciphering process. Big Picture is playing again Friday April 15 at Motorco. Assume we will be there. I'll assume you will, too.
ROO-VIEW:
The Big Picture, I think, is aptly named. That's a huge compliment. It's a very large picture, after all.
The first time a saw this band was at Moving Island's Buoyancy Benefit in January and I was not prepared. Stepping into the performance space on West St. was half like walking into some abandoned building and half like someone had taken all of the furniture out of someone's home. It was forceful, but intimate. The Big Picture brought that same feeling that night. They were band, but they were also a group of people genuinely having a good time together. They didn't seem to mind that their band was large and their stage was small. They didn't seem to mind that they were obviously swapping sweat with the same frequency as making sounds. Not only did they not seem to mind this intense closeness, but they seemed to revel in it. They were familiar with one another, and I felt they were being familiar with me because of it. I loved them. I said so. I told them that "my face melted off" that night because they were so good.
I was really excited to see them play again at Local Band Local Beer. For those who do not attend this weekly function, shame on you.
The night came and I was right on time. After missing Cassis Orange a week earlier at Double Barrel 8 (I still harbor resentment for that) and missing an acoustic set by Kid Future the week before at Buoyancy Benefit (because they went on 45 min early or so)...I was determined NOT to miss The Big Picture. So, yes, 10 pm came and I was there, waiting.
I waited.
The marketing eluded to Gray Young being the main act, but they went on in the middle of a three band set. I won't talk about the other bands much as Karla has asked for my thoughts on TBP specifically, but I will say two things. 1) Fan Modine seemed strange at first and I thought it was a bomb, but after two songs I started getting interested the performance and was basically sold by the end of the set. 2) Gray Young gets better every time I hear them.
Finally it was time for TBP to take the stage, which they did...then they evacuated it...then they took the stage again. I'll be honest, I don't know who is who in this band with the exception of Jonny Tunnell (see: the highlight of my Double Barrel experience in an earlier guest blog appearance). One of the two drummers came up and did some silly little ditty at first. It was cute, but didn't really serve as an introduction to what was about to happen. What happened was amazing. There is a genius in this band. They jump around, trade places and instruments. They share voices and moods. Just when you think you have this band pegged down and definable someone else will come up and offer lead vocals or someone will put down an instrument and pick up a band mate's guitar. With two drummers the music is definitely up beat. Jonny serves as a lead man at points, but at other times you can't help but notice how talented the others are as well. Over all it's a well orchestrated mess of a good time. What I mean is they seem to have a good time with each other, to make the audience have a good time with them and then play the two off of one another to create a really intense synergy. I have seen a lot of bands get a crowd going, but I have seen few that did it with this level of intensity.
They have no discernible style or theme. They each have their own thing going on. They seem like people who would have as much fun at a seedy dive bar as at a wine tasting or on a backpacking trip. Hmm. Now I kind of want to go backpacking with them. That's a huge compliment, too.
OH! also there was finally some new beer on the "local beer" side of things. thanks, Fullsteam! I liked the beer that tasted like Cheerios!
No comments:
Post a Comment