| I like shoegazery dreampop
bands: i listen to mellow droning stuff while sitting at home.
I also like laptopica: i listen to that sort of thing as i sit
at work, writing code. I also like the punk rock: it's good
music for weaving in and out of traffic on Atlanta's many highways.
It also is very good live. Unusually good, in that a mediocre
punk band can still put on an amazing show. Put another way,
even if a band is not innovative they can still scream, bounce,
and make me have a good time.
And some days, you just need the punk rock. The weekend after
Thanksgiving, i was grateful for a punk show to just let it
all loose. And The Earl, fortunately, had me covered.
The first act was 1000 Fires. Apparently this is a new-ish
Atlanta band. I had never seen these people before, but they
played competent math/hardcore fusion not un-similar to Fugazi.
Another reference that kept wandering through my mind as i watched
them play was "Metal Box-era Public Image
Limited". Something about the deep bass and the staccato
guitars really reminded me of PiL.
In my book, both are great bands to be compared to, and indeed
i thoroughly enjoyed this band's set. Lots of energy and fury,
and although they did not seem really angry, they still tore
it up on stage. It was punk rock without the angst, but it still
rocked. I would definitely go see them again.
The next act was The Tom Collins. We here at EvilSponge jokingly
refer to them as "The Anti-Postlibyans". Honestly:
i kind of hate this band. They stand up there with "pretty
boy but hard drinkin' rocker" imagery, and rip off Led
Zeppelin.
Honestly: that is what they remind me of. They have power chords,
lyrics that try to sound both surreal and deep but instead come
off as "stoned", and almighty rhythm. While i think
he is wasting his talents, the drummer does rock hard.
So i sat there through their set, bored, and noticing how,
when you have a sinus infection and stand in a loud room with
earplugs in, the world seems surreal. Seriously: sounds came
at me seemingly it random. It was disconcerting and vaguely
interesting at the same time. And much more fun that paying
attention to The Tom Collins. Ick.
It did not seem as if they played too long, fortunately, and
then Paper Lions hit the stage. This is the third time i have
seem this act, and the last time
i saw them i classified them as math rock, with more emphasis
on the rock than on the math.
However, it's been nine months, and this time the most obvious
comparison that came to mind was, again, Fugazi. They make loud
punk rock played with over-intellectualized rhythms. Now, i
thoroughly love that sort of thing, and i really liked their
set. However, i can't help but wonder if it was the beer which
i had chugged in order to tolerate The Tom Collins that made
them seem Fugazi-esque to me. I mean, sure, the comparison is
there, but there is more going on in the band. I think.
At any rate, they sure were fun, and i would defintely go see
them again. So this was a pretty good night. If only The Tom
Collins hadn't of been there, but oh well.
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