What comes first - the music or the words?

It feels like I haven't posted anything in ages. Stupid summer, making it busy at work and cutting down on my goofing off (i.e. blogging) time... I've done a few things since the last time I wrote:

The Epoxies - My buddy JT and I caught these Portland new wavers three Fridays ago at the Hi-Dive. It's been a few years since I last saw them, and they really haven't changed any - retro new wave tunes, duct tape costumes, cheesy laser pointers on the guitars, and a manic stage presence. So, no surprises, but it was still a good time. The main selling point for this band is ultra cute singer Roxy Epoxy - her energy and enthusiasm are something to behold. I was surprised to see the kids start a big mosh pit for part of the show. There's something funny about seeing people slamdance to a band that uses a "keytar."

The Black Angels - After the Epoxies show, we rushed over to the Larimer Lounge to catch this Austin neo-psych band. Not the most original sound going - a bit of the Velvets here, some Jesus and Mary Chain drone there - but wow, these guys were really good. I'm not sure how to further describe them - maybe a less pretentious Brian Jonestown Massacre? Whatever, they put on a great show, and their tunes were downright hypnotizing at times. I picked up their album, Passover, and it's really good as well.

The Fiery Furnaces - Okay, this show wasn't what I expected at all. Judging from the CD's I have, I was expecting piano and keyboard based quirky pop tunes. I was surprised when the band hit the stage and there wasn't a keyboard in sight. Even more surprising was that the band totally rocked - the songs I recognized were often played at 2 to 3 times the speed of their CD counterparts. It sounded pretty punk rock! They have a really interesting approach, often incorporating snippets of other tunes into the songs they are playing - creating medleys of sorts. I've read that they're constantly changing their set list and how the tunes are approached, and I believe it. A really great show, I'm just sorry that it took me this long to see them.

Sonic Youth - The first time I saw this band was 20 years ago, in the summer of '86, and since then I've seen them many times. I've seen some amazing shows, some good ones, and a few really dull ones. The last couple of times I saw Sonic Youth fell into the latter category, so I figured they pretty much owed me a good show at this point. With this rationalization in mind, I headed down to the Gothic a few weeks ago to give them another try. The show was a sellout, and I was surprised at how many kids were there - by kids, I mean people in the early to mid 20's. I honestly was expecting a bunch of old dudes like me, so it's heartening to see that younger people are still discovering this band. The show this time was solid and thoroughly enjoyable, much better than the last couple I saw, if falling a bit short of amazing. A nice mix of old and new tunes (I was happy to hear several from my personal fave album, Sister), and the band really seemed to be enjoying themselves. A girl in the crowd asked them to play some "oldies," to which Thurston responded by singing a few seconds of the Bob Seger atrocity Old Time Rock n' Roll. That really cracked me up. The warm-up act was Awesome Color, and they were pretty good, if not quite awesome.

The BellRays - On a whim after going out for a few beers, JT and I caught these guys at the Larimer Lounge. They put on their typical strong show of high energy rock and soul - no real surprises, but a great time for the true believers. Unfortunately, despite getting there late, we still had to seek refuge on the back patio from locals Machine Gun Blues. The best description I can give of their music would be "machine gun shit." I honestly couldn't find a single redeeming aspect of their music; it is some truly awful stuff.

Ray Davies - We saw the former Kink last week at the Paramount Theater, and the show was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I've seen him three times before doing his solo Storyteller show, all enjoyable, but this was the first time I've seen him with a full band. In my opinion, the band was almost too professional - I would've liked to have seen them really rip it up a bit more. He's touring behind his first solo release, Other People's Lives, of which I'm only familiar with a few of the songs. He hit that album pretty heavy, and for me some of these songs tended to drag a bit. He did play quite a few old Kinks favorites - 20th Century Man, Oklahoma USA, I'm Not Like Everybody Else, Sunny Afternoon, Tired of Waiting For You, You Really Got Me, the inevitable sing-along to Lola, and Low Budget to name a few. The problem with someone as vast a catalog as his is the stuff he leaves you wishing you'd heard. Personally, I would've loved to have heard Waterloo Sunset, Autumn Almanac, Stop Your Sobbing, A House in the Country, or anything (!) from the Something Else or Village Green Preservation Society albums. So, while not exactly a disappointment, I wasn't nearly as blown away by this show as I had hoped I would be. It was good to see him in such high spirits (especially after getting shot a year or so ago), I guess I just left feeling a bit unfulfilled. On a side note, the Paramount Theater has got to have the most uncomfortable chairs in town - ouch!

And there you go...say, that wasn't so hard!

RIP - Syd Barrett