The Hold Steady; The Thermals; The Bound Stems; iPod; Conference, Two Gallants and Police Brutality; The Departed; Cooking (Wings)
It was the super hardcore week of concerts, the last the most shockingly hard of them all...
10/9
I had first listened to the world's greatest bar band's (the Hold Steady) newest album on the way to the retreat the previous Friday and liked it immediately. Songs about drinking and drugs and hooking up and romance and the revelations that come about as a result of the above are featured prominently, and the entire thing wrapped up in easy to listen to mainstream rock hooks that wouldn't be out of place on a Counting Crows album.
So obviously the ideal way to see the band is at a place like Walter's—a dingy, low-lit dive with cheap, crappy beer. As luck would have it, that's exactly where they played. The cheap beer gave me the perfect buzz with which to appreciate the music, and, well, the concert was pretty much exactly what I expected—great rock, a great band, a great show.
10/10
Honestly, I barely remember this one. I'm not that familiar with the band, and I recall enjoying the show, at least. I do know it was at the Proletariat, and as it was a Tuesday, I probably had a Sparks to wake me up a bit.
10/11
Dan really loved these guys after catching them at SxSW, and while their EP didn't hook me, their album did. So I was excited at the chance to see them, which I also have to thank Dan for as he apparently suggested that the Prole book them.
The music is... difficult to describe. The bound stems are all about moments. Good moments. Moments that you could build a whole song around. Instead, they stuff a whole bunch of them in one song. Some work, some don't, but all you have to do is hold out a little because a good one is bound to be around the corner. There are elements of normal indie rock, some electronic manipulation, and maybe a little math rock.
Despite a relatively positive review on Pitchfork (maybe they're not the tastemakers they used to be, especially as evidenced by their bizarre best of 2006 list), the crowd was sparse. But god bless 'em, the band was very appreciative of the crowd they drew. Dan got a shoutout for his mad skillz behind the mixer, which, if it wasn't enough that the band was playing, completely made his night. The show itself was great, replicating their album well with the added energy of a live show, but removing some of the ponderous spoken samples that weighed their album down a bit.
At the end of the show, their female vocalist announced that we could support the band in one of two ways: buy their album, or give them a place to sleep. I attempted both, and succeeded in buying their album, but they got a better sleeping offer. I just can't top a guest room, but that was ok; everyone involved was better off. But at least I offered, right?
Anywyay, everyone should check them out. Great music, great, super nice people. What more can you ask for?
10/12
It was the night off from shows. Apple had, not too long before, announced the new generation of iPod nanos, which managed to increase storage space, and offered improved durability in a scratch-resistant aluminum shell. Despite my slight guilt over my past tendency to run out and grab any new iPod which was available (although in my defense, I skipped generation 2, the color version of generation 4, generation 5, the iPod mini, and the new iPod shuffle), once I found a buyer for my old nano in Angela, I braved the rain and went to Best Buy to buy the new nano with some gift certificates and the cash from the sale of my old one in hand. In addition, they had an insanely cheap price on the new Decemberists album, and the new Beck albumw as available as well, so I picked both of them up to add to my Best Buy tab.
10/13
The Agency That Funds Me (TATFM) had their annual retreat actually in the med center this year, which minimized driving, and even had free parking for us, which allowed driving in the first place, and God bless 'em for both those things. I showed up a bit late, because I could, put up my poster, hung around a while, and then Graham, Tiffany, Char, Jeff and I took off, first for a coffee shop (as I had some things I had wanted to work on and once again was at a conference without wireless), though the internet wasn't exactly working in the traditional sense, and then went to another coffee shop to work (which, it turns out, didn't have internet at all). Lunch at Brasil was good. Tiffany and I split a pizza, though it may have been a bit granola for her.
After that back to the conference for a bit, then I grabbed my car and went home for a while (it was so nice to have that option) to "get some work done" before returning in time for the happy hour with the free beer, and dinner, catered by Treebeard's. I wasn't overly impressed, but, hey, free meal. Dinner over, I snuck out during the keynote, went home, and grabbed a nap.
Char made arrangements for a whole mess o' people at a wine bar (the Tasting Room, maybe?). I think Graham and Angela had actually made the choice, as it was within walking distance for them. In addition to them, Cindy, and myself, other Angela was there, some first and second years, Kim, Oliver and Oliver's New Girl, and Char were there. We filled up a big table, and started putting away the bottles.
But Cindy and I tooke off to go see Two Gallants. Having been super impressed with them the first time I saw them and liking their recorded output subsequent to that, but not being overly impressed with their next show in Houston, I figured they'd at least be worth catching.
I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen.
Cindy and I got there. Dan and Kristin and a whole mess o' other people were there. The show was going great. It was great music and exciting and the duo was executing flawlessly.
Then I looked out the door of Walter's and saw a police car pulling up.
This was odd, of course, so I kind of kept an eye on the door. A young, large, latino officer with a shaved head came through the door, exchanged a few words with the door guy, and then started making his way to the front of the room, shining his flash light. I thought maybe he was lookin for underage kids there or something? At the time, that was the best guess I had.
But then he got up to the front of the room. And climbed on stage. He exchanged a few words with the Gallants' guitarist, who continued playing the instrumental bridge of the song they had been playing when he arrrived. The cop then grabbed the guitar, and the guitarist pulled back on it.
In the blink of an eye, the guitarist was on the ground, taken down by the cop. I backed up, because God knows what was going on there. A woman's voice authoritatively told us to toss our drinks and get out, and for some reason I thought maybe there was some weird liquor license thing going on, so I exited immediately.
In my absence, apparently crowd members tryed to pull the cop off the band, which was dumb but maybe justifiable, as it probably looked like he was going to kill them. It was then that the cop broke out the tazer. A guy that was taking pictures (and would later be arrested for something vague like "interfering with an officer's duties" got shoved by the cop into a century-old upright bass belonging to the opening band. Various members of the audience were harrased. a 14-year-old boy, there with his parents, got tazered. At some point the cop started chasing the guitarist with a tazer. The guitarist went behind the bar, hopped it, and then took off running out the front door.
Meanwhile, I was outside; Cindy, Dan and Kristin were still inside. More cars had showed up (four or five at that point). I saw the guitarist take off running out of the front door and off down the street. It was probably around this time that some audience members got arrested, some of whom were just asking what was going on, though undoubtedely not in the most respectful of tones. I was hanging out off to the side, about to go in looking for Cindy when she came out. We hung around for a while when we were told we could go inside and close tabs, and since I'm rather fond of my credit card I opted to do so, noting the broken bass on the floor.
We walked across the street to our cars, wondering aloud what the fuck had just happened, but taking off rather quickly rather than risk being singled out by any of the 20 or so cops that were swarming the place, opting to wind down at Rudz.
The story of what happened would come out over the next weeks and months. Apparently there were pretty much nightly noise complaints from some assholes who had moved in behind the bar and were shocked that they would be able to hear the music from the fucking rock venue adjacent to them. And apparently that particular cop had harrased Walter's patrons before. And there were all kind of other stories:
Fuckin' a, man, fuckin' a.
10/14
Cindy and I met her brother up at the I-10 Edwards to see The Departed which was certainly well-acted, if a bit... opaque.
10/15
I decided to try my hand at making buffalo wings (of the boneless variety). Some breaded and fried chicken breast chunks, some melted butter, some Louisiana hot sauce, some celery sticks, and some bleu cheese dressing, and I was in business. Not bad for a first effor, though I could probably improve on both the breading and the sauce...
10/9
I had first listened to the world's greatest bar band's (the Hold Steady) newest album on the way to the retreat the previous Friday and liked it immediately. Songs about drinking and drugs and hooking up and romance and the revelations that come about as a result of the above are featured prominently, and the entire thing wrapped up in easy to listen to mainstream rock hooks that wouldn't be out of place on a Counting Crows album.
So obviously the ideal way to see the band is at a place like Walter's—a dingy, low-lit dive with cheap, crappy beer. As luck would have it, that's exactly where they played. The cheap beer gave me the perfect buzz with which to appreciate the music, and, well, the concert was pretty much exactly what I expected—great rock, a great band, a great show.
10/10
Honestly, I barely remember this one. I'm not that familiar with the band, and I recall enjoying the show, at least. I do know it was at the Proletariat, and as it was a Tuesday, I probably had a Sparks to wake me up a bit.
10/11
Dan really loved these guys after catching them at SxSW, and while their EP didn't hook me, their album did. So I was excited at the chance to see them, which I also have to thank Dan for as he apparently suggested that the Prole book them.
The music is... difficult to describe. The bound stems are all about moments. Good moments. Moments that you could build a whole song around. Instead, they stuff a whole bunch of them in one song. Some work, some don't, but all you have to do is hold out a little because a good one is bound to be around the corner. There are elements of normal indie rock, some electronic manipulation, and maybe a little math rock.
Despite a relatively positive review on Pitchfork (maybe they're not the tastemakers they used to be, especially as evidenced by their bizarre best of 2006 list), the crowd was sparse. But god bless 'em, the band was very appreciative of the crowd they drew. Dan got a shoutout for his mad skillz behind the mixer, which, if it wasn't enough that the band was playing, completely made his night. The show itself was great, replicating their album well with the added energy of a live show, but removing some of the ponderous spoken samples that weighed their album down a bit.
At the end of the show, their female vocalist announced that we could support the band in one of two ways: buy their album, or give them a place to sleep. I attempted both, and succeeded in buying their album, but they got a better sleeping offer. I just can't top a guest room, but that was ok; everyone involved was better off. But at least I offered, right?
Anywyay, everyone should check them out. Great music, great, super nice people. What more can you ask for?
10/12
It was the night off from shows. Apple had, not too long before, announced the new generation of iPod nanos, which managed to increase storage space, and offered improved durability in a scratch-resistant aluminum shell. Despite my slight guilt over my past tendency to run out and grab any new iPod which was available (although in my defense, I skipped generation 2, the color version of generation 4, generation 5, the iPod mini, and the new iPod shuffle), once I found a buyer for my old nano in Angela, I braved the rain and went to Best Buy to buy the new nano with some gift certificates and the cash from the sale of my old one in hand. In addition, they had an insanely cheap price on the new Decemberists album, and the new Beck albumw as available as well, so I picked both of them up to add to my Best Buy tab.
10/13
The Agency That Funds Me (TATFM) had their annual retreat actually in the med center this year, which minimized driving, and even had free parking for us, which allowed driving in the first place, and God bless 'em for both those things. I showed up a bit late, because I could, put up my poster, hung around a while, and then Graham, Tiffany, Char, Jeff and I took off, first for a coffee shop (as I had some things I had wanted to work on and once again was at a conference without wireless), though the internet wasn't exactly working in the traditional sense, and then went to another coffee shop to work (which, it turns out, didn't have internet at all). Lunch at Brasil was good. Tiffany and I split a pizza, though it may have been a bit granola for her.
After that back to the conference for a bit, then I grabbed my car and went home for a while (it was so nice to have that option) to "get some work done" before returning in time for the happy hour with the free beer, and dinner, catered by Treebeard's. I wasn't overly impressed, but, hey, free meal. Dinner over, I snuck out during the keynote, went home, and grabbed a nap.
Char made arrangements for a whole mess o' people at a wine bar (the Tasting Room, maybe?). I think Graham and Angela had actually made the choice, as it was within walking distance for them. In addition to them, Cindy, and myself, other Angela was there, some first and second years, Kim, Oliver and Oliver's New Girl, and Char were there. We filled up a big table, and started putting away the bottles.
But Cindy and I tooke off to go see Two Gallants. Having been super impressed with them the first time I saw them and liking their recorded output subsequent to that, but not being overly impressed with their next show in Houston, I figured they'd at least be worth catching.
I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen.
Cindy and I got there. Dan and Kristin and a whole mess o' other people were there. The show was going great. It was great music and exciting and the duo was executing flawlessly.
Then I looked out the door of Walter's and saw a police car pulling up.
This was odd, of course, so I kind of kept an eye on the door. A young, large, latino officer with a shaved head came through the door, exchanged a few words with the door guy, and then started making his way to the front of the room, shining his flash light. I thought maybe he was lookin for underage kids there or something? At the time, that was the best guess I had.
But then he got up to the front of the room. And climbed on stage. He exchanged a few words with the Gallants' guitarist, who continued playing the instrumental bridge of the song they had been playing when he arrrived. The cop then grabbed the guitar, and the guitarist pulled back on it.
In the blink of an eye, the guitarist was on the ground, taken down by the cop. I backed up, because God knows what was going on there. A woman's voice authoritatively told us to toss our drinks and get out, and for some reason I thought maybe there was some weird liquor license thing going on, so I exited immediately.
In my absence, apparently crowd members tryed to pull the cop off the band, which was dumb but maybe justifiable, as it probably looked like he was going to kill them. It was then that the cop broke out the tazer. A guy that was taking pictures (and would later be arrested for something vague like "interfering with an officer's duties" got shoved by the cop into a century-old upright bass belonging to the opening band. Various members of the audience were harrased. a 14-year-old boy, there with his parents, got tazered. At some point the cop started chasing the guitarist with a tazer. The guitarist went behind the bar, hopped it, and then took off running out the front door.
Meanwhile, I was outside; Cindy, Dan and Kristin were still inside. More cars had showed up (four or five at that point). I saw the guitarist take off running out of the front door and off down the street. It was probably around this time that some audience members got arrested, some of whom were just asking what was going on, though undoubtedely not in the most respectful of tones. I was hanging out off to the side, about to go in looking for Cindy when she came out. We hung around for a while when we were told we could go inside and close tabs, and since I'm rather fond of my credit card I opted to do so, noting the broken bass on the floor.
We walked across the street to our cars, wondering aloud what the fuck had just happened, but taking off rather quickly rather than risk being singled out by any of the 20 or so cops that were swarming the place, opting to wind down at Rudz.
The story of what happened would come out over the next weeks and months. Apparently there were pretty much nightly noise complaints from some assholes who had moved in behind the bar and were shocked that they would be able to hear the music from the fucking rock venue adjacent to them. And apparently that particular cop had harrased Walter's patrons before. And there were all kind of other stories:
- Chronicle Handstamp blog entry with video
- Chron blog entry with e-mail criticizing the Chronicle's coverage of the story
- Chron blog entry referencing Chron story on Walter's and noise complaints
- Pitchfork interview with the band
- Interview with the band in Rolling Stone
- Two Gallants forum thread on the incident
- Heavily linked-to account on Dan's blog
Fuckin' a, man, fuckin' a.
10/14
Cindy and I met her brother up at the I-10 Edwards to see The Departed which was certainly well-acted, if a bit... opaque.
10/15
I decided to try my hand at making buffalo wings (of the boneless variety). Some breaded and fried chicken breast chunks, some melted butter, some Louisiana hot sauce, some celery sticks, and some bleu cheese dressing, and I was in business. Not bad for a first effor, though I could probably improve on both the breading and the sauce...
Labels: bars, concerts, cooking, electronics, restaurants, school, shopping
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 2:19 AM
