2011/03/05

This is not a review!

It's really just stuff I sort of remember from last night. I wasn't taking notes or blogging from the club, so maybe some of this is made up.

Last night, Sweetie and I finally went out to a club. We did not sit at home in our jammies watching a movie on DVD while one or the other of us, the lucky one, had the feeling slowly drain out of her legs and bum by a large sleeping kitteh. Neither did we sit in front of our respective computers posting pathetic Facebook updates and reading comments that make us mad. Nope. We hopped in the car and went to the Biltmore Cabaret, also known as "the club with no sight lines," to see White Lung, Nü Sensae, and the B-Lines.

We arrived around 10:30, sans bumbershoots. And it was raining a bit. So it was a little annoying to be held up outside, not under a roof, while a guy frisked people. WTF? I'm thinking that he is so not going to touch me, but we realized from the women in front of us that the only indignity us women were subjected to was him poking around in our purses. I don't think they were looking for weapons. With only a $5 cover, maybe they were looking for flasks and such. They needed to sell enough PBRs* to pay the bands.

We perched on a giant ottoman in the right rear of the club. No bands were playing, but at least the DJ was spinning pretty good stuff (X-Ray Spex as we came in). We thought we might even have missed the first band. Sweetie finished her Diet Pepsi. Whoosh! The guy with the grey tub took the glass away. A bit later, I finished my Philips Blue Buck pale ale. Whoosh! Grey Tub Guy was really efficient. We hoped that he got some of the bar tips, because he was really running around.

Finally, at 11 o'clock, the black curtain parted and the B-Lines started their set. Sweetie and I moved to an empty table just to the right of the soundboard, back far enough so that we were OK without the earplugs we both forgot (I always do—this is why at rock camp you keep them in your lanyard). The B-Lines were loud and fast. Their set lasted only about 20 minutes, but they played at least 10 songs in that time. Pretty good songs too. They reminded me of 1980s LA punk with a bit of English Oi thrown in. The lead singer was all over the stage. They were fun!

I changed up and got a Big Ass cider. The sound woman was reading a book. It wasn't really a great night for people watching. Some of the women were being creative. The men, not so much. They never are. Although I did see this one young guy with short blond hair, a beige cardigan, and a mustache. He looked like he should have been smoking a pipe. We had some entertainment in front of us for a few minutes—a young blond girl and sitting on her boyfriend's lap. They were snogging to the point where you wondered if they needed to come up for air. I can't remember sucking face like that in public since I was in high school! It was kind of amusing at first, but then it got boring. But they must have got hot, because before too much longer they both left.

We can't quite remember what time Nü Sensae went on. We'd seen them at a Girls Rock Camp Vancouver lunchtime show and also at a GRCV benefit show at Antisocial Skateboard Shop. The band consists of a guy who plays drums furiously and a women who plays bass furiously. Two-piece bands seem to be a trend these days. The bass player is the singer, although mostly she screams. They make it work. The sound can be interesting, but last night we felt less impressed. For one thing, when you have only a bass and drums, you're really limited in what you can do. I think the Pack A.D. make the two-piece idea work better, with the guitar being run through two amps, one of which kicks up the bottom end, and probably some toys. Also, the Pack's singer has a really cool voice. So we thought Nü Sensae's set was good, but not great.

The black curtain closed again. More waiting. We didn't care for this new DJ's selection as much. He was playing 12-inch records, and he kept making them skip by leaning over them to talk to this friends. One of his friends was Mustache Cardi Guy. I pointed him out to Sweetie, who thought he looked vaguely creepy. Sound girl was back to her book. I was nursing my cider. Nü Sensae picked the right set, because there are fewer people in the club now, but still enough for a good crowd. We spotted something completely different—a dreadmullet (Sweetie's term). This guy had fairly short hair except for a huge twisted up dreadlock at the back. That was new!

Somewhere around 12:30 (I think) White Lung took the stage. Mish Way is the singer, and we've known her from rock camp for a couple years. We'd never seen White Lung play live though. From their album, which I like, I would have characterized them as Riot Grrrl. But live, there was more speed metal in the mix. I think I felt that mostly from the guitarist. I'll have to give the album another listen. They played a good hard set. Loved the bass player, who sometimes led off songs. Because of the no-sight-lines thing, mostly I could see Mish's swirling mane of ash-blond hair, backlit because she was singing from way at the front of the stage. Methinks the old folks were getting tired by this time. But we made it!

Nü Sensae and White Lung are about to go on tour together. Hope it's a good one!

Tonight, the sofa spuds return. Jammies. I Am Love on DVD. And a large warm kitteh. Maybe on both laps.

*When I was growing up, Pabst Blue Ribbon was considered run-of-the-mill piss. It was even old-guy beer. Now, inexplicably, it is hipster beer.

1 comment:

Anji said...

It's so long since I've seen a band play live. thanks for sharing your evening.