I got nothing to say about the Gretchen Snakes Group, but it's a cool name (does that poster for Alvarius B. on their bandcamp page refer to a past gig or an upcoming one, I wonder?).
Anyow, the thing that's kind of strange is that a few days after the Neil Hagerty show, Jon Spencer, also of Pussy Galore, will play the Imperial. I'm excited. I was actually kind of non-plussed when I caught the renamed Blues Explosion about ten years ago at Richards on Richards, thought that The Gossip kind of blew them offstage. In fact, I was so impressed by the Gossip - in one of their earliest, garage-punkiest incarnations, that I even briefly tried to flirt with Beth Ditto at the merch table, not very successfully (I mean, it's not like I didn't notice she's not straight; I was unsurprised that she showed little interest beyond the professional in chatting with me). When Spencer came out, I got the impression of a man who was really, really forcing it, jumping around and cavorting because he felt that that was what showmanship was about; I was disconcerted, put off, and left early (maybe it was just me). The band called it quits for several years after that album - the one where Jon Spencer's name was dropped, which was nowhere as good as Plastic Fang, the disc where I first became aware of them. The good news is that after several years of hiatus, the new JSBX album - with Jon's name right back where it should be - sounds fucking amazing, tight, smart, fast, fun, and FUNKY. It's called Freedom Tower: No Wave Dance Party 2015, and it seems like an excellent time to give this band another shot.
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What an odd night. Hagerty and the two other members of Howling Hex - a woman I'm presuming is his partner, who sang and played tambourines, and a drummer - performed all of about twenty minutes of music, between around 9:40 and 10, then announced the show over (tho' the Fox website said it would go til 10:30). Kinda made me wish I'd caught the opening bands! I can't begin to describe what they did, not that it was that unusual; Hagerty played hooky guitar riffs, the woman offered some sort of incomprehensible between-song narration that frequently morphed into the next tune, and there seemed to be a cool attitude for disdain for both people who exploit musicians (because - as one lyric went - it's hard to sell something when you can get it for free) and, I guess, people who try too hard to be successful (one of the songs was called "Primetime Clown" or something like that). Hagerty repeatedly announced "the Howling Hex!" and counted DOWN the ends of songs (1-2-3-4 before the FINAL chord, not the first one). One doowoppy tune aside ("Guided Missile") it all seemed more some sort of "no wave/beat art event" than a rock concert, though I kind of enjoyed everything they did and would have stuck around for, oh, another half an hour, if they'd deigned to give a full set, maybe during which I might have hoped to hear some of the songs of theirs I actually have come to like (like "Rockslide, say"). But it was over too soon for any real engagement or satisfaction. There was no merch, either. Strange evening, kind of one of the most indifferently staged concerts I've ever seen, though they played well and seemed to BELIEVE in what they were doing, whatever that exactly was. Glad I only paid $14 for the ticket. I'm sure it would have been worth it if I hadn't arrived at 9:30...
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