So that was a fun night, which started all of a block from the Hargrove, where I was on the guest list for the John Brennan/ Chris Corsano show (which I wrote about here). I had an hour to kill and was having a fast biryani at Chai Wagon -- a yummy and affordable Indian street food place on the corner of Main and 2nd -- when Noelle Chaos came in and asked me if I'm going to Red Gate, another half-block up the street. "Nope, I'm going to the Hargrove. What's happening at Red Gate?"
Turns out Jesse LeBourdais was playing with his band the Long Winter. Jesse is a terrific, under-sung singer songwriter, unique and passionate and real, but though I've seen him a half-dozen times, I've never before tonight seen him with a full band (including Elliot of Freak Dream et alia, who I enjoyed chatting with before the show). I wasn't able to see their whole set but I happen to have caught video of their newly-dropped single. Having time to kill anyhow, I paid $20 and spent my evening hanging out at Red Gate when things weren't happening at the Hargrove, then zipping back to the Hargrove when there was a lull at Red Gate (literally a two minute walk). There were other bands at Red Gate that I don't know -- Night Mirrors, who make music that, I dunno, struck me as the Evil Twin of the Cure's Faith album; a Calgary band called Julius Sumner Miller, who are weirdly named after a scientist and TV personality that I know nothing about (but see here); and a band named Dead End Drive-In, after a pretty good Ozploitation dystopian movie that I happen to have seen, who make music that suggests (Brock Pytel, who I ran into at the venue, said) Paul Westerberg meets Weezer, but who reminded me more of Titus Andronicus, though I could hear what Brock meant!
I caught a bit of each act, and 40 minutes of the second set by Brennan-Corsano. The punks were much easier to take in, less demanding comfort food -- a cheeseburger with bacon by comparision with the epicurean pleasures and unfamiliar flavours offered by Brennan and Corsano, who created something very intense and propulsive, but also at times very subtle, making sounds that often did sound (for obvious reasons) like two virtuoso drummers playing with maximum focus and intensity, but also occasionally sounded like there were stringed instruments involved (were cymbals bowed, maybe?) and once or twice even like there were wind instruments in the mix (which may or may not have had something to do with a dangly tube hanging out of Chris Corsano's mouth for part of the set? I was seated at the back and couldn't always see what was making what sound!).
On one of my pop-ins, between Brennan/ Corsano sets, I scooped up a bunch of EarthBall records and one other project by Brennan, and got my one Orcutt-Corsano record signed by Chris, but (sorry!) I dodged buying the Corsano-Brennan album itself: while it's fascinating and rewarding music to hear made live (and really piquant that it's come out on Mint Records!), I simply don't have the headspace for music that requires such an intense concentration in my daily listening (in contrast to the magical mudbaths of EarthBall, which I can just wallow in, reveling in the organic decadence). Still, it was something to see! (And, you know, my friends who are all over Stomu Yamashta and such would probably dig the album intensely; I confess to being a failed aesthete, these days, am at least 75% vulgarian in my sonic diet, have lost all pretentions of being an athelete of perception. But see the video for "Dim," off Buzzing With Rumors, here; Kim Alpert provided live video art with the performance tonight, as well).
Oh, and I found more Moloch! tags in the Red Gate bathrooms (I had previously seen them at Alf House). I'll be looking for them everywhere now! Very glad I ran into Noelle: two gigs tonight were better than one (and I'll be writing more about Jesse in a couple months...).
I don't think I'll be doing much else writing-wise for the blog for a bit. Lots of other things going on, and mostly they're going to be for the Straight...
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