Get Good or Stay Bad

A few more days, and a few more shows:

The Cops - I had read some decent reviews of this Seattle band, so I caught them last Wednesday at the Larimer Lounge. I must admit that part of my interest was due to the fact that their new CD was produced by Kurt Bloch, a guy responsible for a lot of incredible music and an acquaintance from my Seattle days. I actually managed to get into this show without paying - no, I'm not so hip that I can just breeze into any club here in D-town. I think the doorman had just left his post when I arrived, so I lucked out. Considering that the last three times I've been to the Larimer they'd bumped up the admission a couple of bucks from what was listed on the website, I really didn't feel too bad about it. One of the reviews I had read compared The Cops to The Jam and Richard Hell (this is even quoted on a sticker that's on the front of their new CD), but I didn't really hear that in their music. I would describe them more as an Americanized take on the first Clash and Stiff Little Fingers albums, complete with some of the dub elements. Not overly original stuff, but they put on a very energetic and enjoyable show. I ended up buying a CD, seeing as I was so flush with cash from not paying the cover. Ha!

Chrome - I caught these space rockers the next night at the Bluebird. I'm not overly familiar with their music, although I do have a few CD's and have seen some shows in the past. Nowadays, I think the Chrome name is used to promote guitarist Helios Creed's music; I’ve seen him play under his own name and as Chrome. Regardless, I did recognize of few of the older Chrome tunes, and I thought it was a cool show. It actually made me a bit dizzy at times! I'm not sure if it was the flashing lights, the films projected on the band, the volume, or that evening's beer special that caused the dizziness. Maybe it was a combination of these elements. A local group, New Ancient Astronauts, opened the show. I think they were trying for a space rock thing similar to Chrome, but they veered a bit too close to heavy metal at times for me to be totally won over. But they didn't annoy me either, which is a blessing in its own regard.

Spoon - This was a free show I saw last night, put on by Jack Daniels. I received an email voucher to attend, so I decided to give it a try. I really don't know any of Spoon's music, but I did see them open for Guided By Voices many years ago and remembered liking them then. A much bigger crowd this time than the last time I attended a free Jack Daniels show, but the Gothic still wasn't packed. This was good thing, as there were some real jackasses in attendance! I guess you should expect that from the type of event where scantily clad women toss free t-shirts from the stage. The warm-up act was really dull, some local hippie trio. When Spoon came on, I was a bit annoyed as I was behind a group who wouldn't quit talking and kept giving each other high-fives. So I worked my way up by the side of the stage, and found a really good spot. I gotta say, Spoon put on a really great show – cool tunes, and good stage presence to boot. I might hafta check out one of their CD’s soon.

While in line at the bar last night, I noticed a guy in front of me was giving me a funny look. Eventually, he pointed at my shirt and asked “Are those guys still together?” I was wearing a Flop t-shirt that must be nearly fourteen years old, as I bought it right before they put out their first album in 1992. I must’ve seen those guys play dozens of times in Seattle; they were big favorites of mine. “No” I answered, “they broke up a long time ago.” “Oh, that’s too bad…I had one of their albums back in the 90’s, they were really great!” responded the stranger. Yes, yes they were…sigh…come to think of it, Kurt Bloch produced a couple of their albums as well!