SCMX 2008

 Rawk Shows   

I think I was a little distracted yesterday (or something) because I didn’t have as much fun as last year. But then again, last year I went on a pre-show pub crawl on the trolley. But whatevs, still a good time.

4.45 Grand Ole Party:
I kinda lagged (I’ll blame it on the lovely MTS) so when I got there, Grand Ole Party was already playing - I heard the “Nasty Habits” as I walked up. They sounded great and totally rocked their set. There were some bros in front of me that were talking about her “great voice” and then said it was wack that she plays drums. Not like their opinion matters, but it’s a thought. I think at some point every band has to make that decision about their lead singer - do they concentrate on vocals only and keep the instrument playing to a minimum? Anyways, that’s a debate for another day. Highlights from GOP’s set were the two new songs they unleashed and “Look Out Young Son” and “Red Rum Heart” and the set ending spot on “I.N.S.A.N.E”.


6.00 Saul Williams
I was pretty geeked to see Saul Williams. I got turned onto him from seeing him open for NIN a few years ago. He did a spoken word set for the NIN show so I wasn’t sure how this show was gonna shake out. So his bandmates come out on stage before him - they were right out of the old school George Clinton and the P-Funk handbook - like these post-modern space costumes. (The keyboardist had a cape, the guitar player was in a suit that can only be described as silver mylar and the guy playing percussion had a red and gold get up that kinda reminded me of MC Hammer.) Saul comes out wearing a gold lame jacket that comes off quickly. He had this fantastic makeup going on. I really don’t think the crowd knew what to make of it all. Saul commented at some point because someone asked “Where is the poetry?” and he went on a little rant about making new kind of poetry or what not. Of course, when he actually did some spoken word it was *awesome*. Also a great moment - his cover of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”. It’s great (grab it in the listen section).
7ish Kinky
(Yes, I skipped all the local bands on the other stage, I went over there a couple of times and was totally meh so I spent off time socializing and getting grub.)
Okay, so I saw Kinky last year at Street Scene and knew they would bring the rock en espanol crowd and was actually pretty excited about it. Kinky’s set was energetic and had most of the crowd dancing throughout. I think it’s awesome that even if you don’t understand spanish, the music is so good that the vibe translates regardless. Oh and I developed a crush on their lead singer during the set. He’s got a great smile. But yeah, it was fun to dance around and I was happy to actually know the song “Mas” enough to sing along as evidenced by my twittering last night..... “Mas y Mas y Mas!”
9.00 Black Keys
Hal came out to introduce the Black Keys. (P.S. I saw you and Pyles dancing around in the 94/9 broadcast station during Kinky’s set. Haha.) No, I hadn’t seen them before and yes, they sounded great. My favorite was “10 A.M. Automatic” from Rubber Factory. Of course the crowd knew “Strange Times” and “Your Touch” (done back to back near the end of the set.) I think I was pretty distracted by their drummer Patrick reminding me of Michael Phelps. (And his Bob Seger tee.) Ha. But I don’t know, maybe not the best situation to see them in? I think I’d rather have a ton of alcohol in me and be making out with someone the whole time. You can figure out if I am being sarcastic on that note…

Okay, I have no more words in me. Catch you guys later.