Dane101 Fundraiser, 8/16/08

In a nutshell: For the $7 I coughed up at the door--and despite the fact that I left early (missing Pale Young Gentlemen and El Valiente), and totally didn't win anything in the raffle--I still feel that I metaphorically made out like a bandit. Kudos to Dane101 for putting together a rather eclectic and very enjoyable lineup.


I do, however, have a few complaints.

1) Mayhaps I am alone in this opinion, but I think 5:PM is waaaay too early to open doors if the show goes to bar time. Really, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think it's very reasonable to expect me, your average red-blooded American male, to sit in an environment where alcohol is being served for 9 hours straight without my critical judgment being seriously impaired. What you did to me was just plain cruel, Dane101, and I hereby pass to your shoulders all the blame for any failings this write-up might have due to my intoxication.

2) I had the following conversation at least 6 times, and it was a little annoying:

Frequency Staff Member: Are you in a band?
Me: Yes.
FSM: Oh, ok. (Pause.) Wait. Are you in a band that is playing tonight?
Me: No.
FSM: Oh. Well, in that case, you owe me $(insert dollar amount here).

3) I had this conversation just once, and I was livid:

FSM: What would you like?
Me: Pitcher of PBR, please.
FSM: Are you in a band?
Me: Yes, but... Didn't we already have this conversation, like, three times?
FSM: I don't know. Are you in a band that is playing tonight?
Me: No.
FSM: ...Then you can't have any PBR, sorry.
Me: (Pause.) Whoa, hold up. I think I might have a hearing problem, or perhaps some sort of dementia, because I thought I just heard you say you can't sell me PBR--the workingman's beer, the heart and soul of the Midwest, the very spirit of all that is Red, White and Blue--as well as the only beer you have on tap that is priced below the others.
FSM: You heard correct, sir.
Me: Miss, is this some kind of bizarre hybrid of performance art and terrorism? Do you... do you hate my freedom?
FSM: ...How's the Dane Wheat beer sound?
Me: ...Fine.

4) Matt Joyce did not play--which was irritating, because I sort of promised him at my last show that I'd go see him play, and I was rather psyched about killing two birds with one stone. As they say in Paris, le sigh.


Well, then. On to the actual content!

Quick reviews of some of the performers:

Aaron Scholz and his comrades were excellent, and considering their bottom billing, phenomenal--I would have expected an act of this caliber to be higher up. I'm normally a bit turned off by groups without a rhythm section (usually because--you know--they lack any sort of coherent rhythm), but the three guitarists of ASB were tight and surprisingly quite complementary, where three less talented guitarists would have just sounded crowded and busy. I would be very interested in seeing him with a full band, though, and I think it might be time to replace that acoustic guitar...

At some point, we dipped out to Ians to get some pizza, and someone else played in there somewhere. When we left, it was this guy:
...who does not look like Clarity J from the Buffali, so I'm pretty sure it was the guy they tapped to fill in for Matt Joyce. But alas, I do not know his name [edit: mystery solved; Kyle Motor], and didn't catch enough to form any meaningful impression of his craft. To be true, a lot of beer had already been consumed, and things were becoming a bit touch and go.

[Alas, we totally missed Clarity J.]

When we got back:
The Takebacks, who had one of the most tolerable takes on dub that I've heard in a long, long time (Full Disclosure: I have an unbelievable bias against dub). I can't complain, actually--they were pretty cool, and a welcome respite from the more streamlined acts on the bill. The drums were sassy, the bass was funky, and the guitar... well, it was echo-tastic. Perhaps too echo-tastic, indeed; I began to feel vaguely sea-sick. Of course, that may have just been the beer.

Next up:
Ahh, finally, an act that sounded about as intoxicated as I was! Say what you may about liberties taken with pitch; The Schinker Family Soul Revival were fucking adorable, and we ate it up. It was just... sweet. It was really sweet, and I don't mean that in a pejorative way. Really. I'm being serious. It made me want to fall in love again, and I don't think it was just the booze talkin'.

The highlight our evening, though, was definitely The Shabelles:
I'm going to do something that really should never, ever be done; I'm going to compare a band to The Smiths. Cry foul if you will, but I heard silly-but-beautiful moods and tones a la 'Girlfriend in a Coma' and 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' in the irresistible and hilarious pop of 'Uh Oh' and 'Rightwing Girlfriend.' At some point, after professing his undying love for the drummer, my compatriot voiced some rather noisy complaints about the timbre of Schabow's lead vocals, and I think I may have punched him in the face for it. Or maybe he punched me in the face. I'm not sure. Then I woke up on my bedroom floor on Sunday morning, a little bit bloody in the mouth, with a crumpled ticket for 'disorderly conduct' still clenched in my fist.

As far as venues go, The Frequency is a huge improvement over the Slipper Club. Thank you, Darwin, for moving that stage back where it belongs. The improvement in both acoustics and visibility--not to mention performer safety--is immeasurable, and compared to other small clubs in the area, the mix was head-and-shoulders above the rest, with everything sounding clear and intelligible without being over-amped to the point of hearing loss.

But then again, everything looks and sounds amazing when you're hammered. I thank you for making my night, but curses, Dane101, for ruining my blog.