Yes. Yes. Yes. I know there are no pictures of Saturday’s show here but, hey, we were much too busy bringing the rock that night to even consider taking pictures. So instead, here is a Lynda Barry* painting of Zen Monkey which is kind of how I felt at 4am on my way home from the rehearsal space after the show.
Come to think of it, I’m still recovering from Saturday. My day started at noon, biking over to Rockin’ Robin to buy strings, picks, a new strap, and things like that. I also went ahead and plunked down a whopping $130 for a Fender Starcaster which is this super crappy starter guitar which I’ve been needing (especially given we’re going to need an Ostrich guitar for the upcoming Velvet Underground show in May). As it turned out, it came in great that night and I used an alternate tuning on it for “Cole Porter”. After Robin (and a quick pass by Black Hole Coffee shop), I dropped by Chris Cascio’s art opening (he, as you recall, did the cover art for Horns of Ammon) which was pretty nice. All seemed well until I proceeded to get massively sick off some bad avocado I ate for the rest of the afternoon. By the time I recovered, I realized I’d lost a major part of the day that I’d intended to set aside to edit and splice 16mm film that I meant to use on the new projector I’d bought last week in Austin. All that editing set me back but the rest of the band loaded up the gear and I just met them at Rudz. It was kind of a pain int he ass but let me tell you, running three projectors at once is pretty sweet. Add to that the fog and the lasers and we we’re gold, baby. Only problem was, we foolishly set the lasers where all they did was shine on Clinton’s hind quarters. Scott Grimm commented afterwards on the “Sparkly Clinton Ass” effect which we have subsequently copyrighted. The fog meanwhile also a slight issue as a little bit went pretty far at Rudz. One or two gusts and the stage was filled with fog. Industrial Strength? Yes! So we used it sparingly.
As for the show. From Beyond kicked epic ass as usual. Dick Beeman is a monster of a drummer and locked in with their bassist, that band is unstoppable. Of course Robert kicks ass on the guitar even when he is playing with a mere set of two 4X10 cabs.
Our set was, if I may say so, pretty kick ass too. The set was a hella lotta fun and we must have been doin’ something right because we even had some folks dancing (!!!) during the end of “Southern Pine.” I don’t care what John (Cramer) says, people dancing at your show IS awesome! Good, exhausting, rock and roll set and a great crowd – who could ask for more?
Last up was Project Grimm and – speaking of great rhythm sections – Ricky and Drew are amazing to watch when they are firing on all cylinders. One guy standing next to me was practically in awe telling me how he just stumbled on the show and couldn’t get over what a great drummer Ricky was. “Who are these guys? Man, that guy’s fucking amazing!!!” and so on. No dancing, but they delivered in spades.
By the end of it, I think everyone was sweaty and utterly spent. That my friends, is a sign of a good rock and roll show.
Thanks to everyone who came out,
See y’all at the next show.
Totally excellent show. The triple-dipple projectors/laserz/fog combo, the other bands, plus the setlist!! A great mix of the future & history of LP4 – esp. “Cole Porter” and “Monkey” – but also the newer stuff. Looking fwd to these other upcoming shows, for real.