Mudhoney last night. None of my pictures were very good.
I might piss off some Mudhoney fans with this post.
I remember listening to their debut LP when it came out in 1989 -- which I got on cassette; it came out during a brief window where I was buying more cassettes than vinyl, since they were cheaper to mailorder and I was buying direct from Sub/Pop. There was one song on it that I absolutely loved, the epic, neon-acid-glowing, loping-slow-march "Come to Mind" -- and a couple I liked, which had lyrics that I could connect with ("You Got It," "By Her Own Hand"); they didn't completely blow me over as songs but I felt at least like I met them where I was supposed to. And there was also one undeniable epic single ("Here Comes Sickness"), which is one of those accomplishments so great where it doesn't really matter if it's not your favourite song on the album, you have to acknowledge it regardless; they have a few songs like that, obviously, high-watermark hits, anthems that keep you hanging in there, y'know? There was a cool, singular guitar tone throughout (I like Steve Turner just fine!), but the rest of the album, the lyrics and songwriting just didn't do anything I could find a way to get into. I hesitate to call them bad, because there are OTHER revered bands I feel this way about like the fuckin' Ramones or the Melvins, too, where the few songs I really like are outnumbered, such that I always wonder if the problem is mine, like it's possible I'll hear them at some later date and go, "Oh yeah, I get it now"... but "This Gift," "Flat Out Fucked," and "Get Into Yours," say -- just didn't work for me, no matter what angle I listened to them from (high on weed, high on acid, drunk, sober, live, on my Walkman, on my crappy bedroom stereo...). They did "Get Into Yours" last night and more than anything else it actually reminded me vividly of just how little I liked the song when it first came out, because I still don't! The lyrics seem under-cooked and stoopid, the structures odd and "creative I guess" but not at all catchy or compelling and maybe even a tad annoying, and the hooks just don't land, you know? It's like I was a fish watching a lure go by and not feeling compelled: "Is it just me? Am I supposed to be chasing that? It just doesn't seem like food."
I loved all the other Sub/ Pop stuff I had at that point -- 1989 was a good year, because Nevermind hadn't fucked up the landscape yet! But compared to, say, God's Balls by TAD, which was the high watermark for me at that point, later to be replaced by 8 Way Santa -- the 1989 Mudhoney debut was a C+ record at best.
I bought a couple other Mudhoney things after that, still, because I still wanted to dig'em and was kind of concealing that I didn't because I felt like it revealed some lack of coolness of my part. On Superfuzz Bigmuff, another album I had on cassette, I really dug "If I Think" (and that's it). I would dive off the grunge-train altogether after Nevermind, because I was traumatized by the underground having risen to the surface, but I would periodically find one of their albums thrifting or such and take it home and spin it... once. The song that worked best for me in the subsequent years was probably "Where Is the Future?" And I liked bits of other albums I heard, sometimes more for the witty lyrics than the music ("I Like It Small" is musically quirky -- I couldn't hum the tune for you now, even though it's one of my favourite latter-day Mudhoney songs -- but lyrically such a perfect statement of punk aesthetics that I climbed right on board).
But I never fully invested. There would be other frustrations, too, where I'd find myself not on the same page in other ways with the band. Like, the song I love the most off their 1989 release is the one they have always left off the vinyl, for example! Or Steve Turner and I have talked twice about "Where Is the Future?" and I've tried to convince him it's great, but he tells me that the band just doesn't care much about that album now (Under a Billion Suns). Aww!
I have now seen them four times live: at the Commodore, paired with Nirvana, on October 30th, 1991, where I came away saying Mudhoney was the better band; Kurt had a kind of really weird, dark, negative energy that night, especially during a punishing "Endless, Nameless" where I think a guitar mighta got smashed? I also saw them open for the Flesheaters in Seattle (which I also enjoyed, especially since "Where Is the Future?" was on the setlist that night) and twice at the Rickshaw, now.
I stuck it out as long as I could -- longer than their previous Rickshaw show -- but I left early.
The problem is doubtlessly mine. There was a happy moshpit, a packed house, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves, but a) I only knew about half the songs; b) they don't play my favourites; c) and of the songs I knew, only a few of them were ones I love ("Touch Me I'm Sick," "If I Think").
I feel like I can finally stop blaming myself, in any event. I'm glad they're around and still selling out shows. I'm glad they enjoyed being at the Rickshaw (Mark at one point quipped about how it was heartwarming to see that it hasn't changed since they were last here). I still respect them and I'll probably even read that Steve Turner memoir someday (haven't, yet, but it's on the shelf!). But I heretofore absolve myself of "trying" to like Mudhoney more than I actually do.
That is not to say I have any regrets about going last night, but for me, the excitement was that Pet Blessings and Gadfly got to play a high-profile show to a packed Rickshaw and show off their stuff to a bunch of people who haven't seen them before. Both bands had commitment, energy, and fire in their performances, and Emilor and Homa, the band's respective leaders, were extremely compelling -- Emilor in a more outgoing, extroverted way (tho' it seemed like Homa leaped into the pit to mosh for a bit near the end of their set!). Emilor had brought out her riot grrl side (which either I hadn't seen before, or hadn't fully noticed/ appreciated), which really really suited her -- there was a vibe of pissed-off punk feminism to her presentation that I'm going to be much more attentive to, starting with their new EP. I would have bought a t-shirt, but there were none in my size. I also shot a clip, though at this point cannot tell you what the song was. It might even be two songs?
And Gadfly finally got a third member again! Homa can go way farther into her solos with someone to play off, so I'm real happy about that. I had this intuition that they would open with one of their heavier, catchier "stoner" numbers like "Spine Stabber" and while I am not 100% sure what the song was, that's exactly what they did, a stoner epic with a notable Middle Eastern vibe to it (vid here). It just cooked, and was a fine start to their charismatic, kickass set.
Is "I'm a Happy Go-Lucky Ray of Fucking Sunshine" a line from a movie or a song or something? Good shirt!
Like Pet Blessings, sadly, Gadfly had no physical media and no shirts that fit. They do have a very considerable bandcamp, however! Another local band I am happy to see live any time I can.
Besides that, I also enjoyed realizing that for "Touch Me I'm Sick," by accident, I was standing right behind Betty Bathory, whose band Daddy Issues do a cover of that song with a level of theatrical realia that blows Mudhoney away, with stage props so vulgar that the clip I posted on Youtube got censored/ taken down, and my appeal denied. While I was down there, I shot video of Mudhoney doing "Let It Slide," and the hair that keeps bopping up into the frame is Betty's, but my energy was actually fading pretty fast by that point. Din't even try to get my rekkids signed.
Anyhow, one more concert tonight, then I get a few days off. Hey, have you read my Descendents-related Scott Reynolds interview yet? Part one of two. There are still face-value tickets for the Descendents tonight! And the Greg Norton and Buddies set with Scott opening (and the SLIP~ons). Don't snooze on that -- it's an epic bill and will sell out for sure; LanaLou's is a pretty small venue!!!
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