[from Vancouver, Canada] this
show was so hilarious I could hardly stand it and it wasn’t even intentional
but a perfect storm of the setting and the band and the audience… – so I had
this band listed as a mid-level possible show from my research but we decided
to go because Rockboy had heard that SPIN listed them as 1 of 7 top unheard
bands… and because we were exhausted and it was close to where we were – so
it’s the worst venue ever, a little alcove in a crappy Mexican restaurant with
timid waitresses crossing right in front of the stage throughout the entire set
– the first audience members to arrive were two pre-pubescent boys who were
totally subdued but clearly thrilled to be at a rock show – they tried to stand
as coolly as they could which amounted to being totally stiff and uncomfortable
except for when they’d shake their heads to shag out the hair as 00s middle
school boys do –
the band was unremarkable looking except that the female
co-vocalist had crazy curls and a cute little body and an obviously fun attitude
AND the lead singer was a dead ringer for Jack Black – he was genuinely funny, talking
to the crowd with his little Canadian accent and apologizing for the band’s
drunkenness – the band sounded like a pretty decent version of The Faint and a
frumpy stocky jokey guy fronting them was just an incongruous fit: he’d switch
from stomping his feet and hopping around with his voice altered into a robot’s
voice to telling us stories about beavers from Canada – plus, being drunkish
and all on Texas margaritas, he’d step into the ‘crowd’ of 10 people and sing
in their faces or follow the waitresses around – he was so cute and harmless,
it was like a family mixer instead of a rock show -
when he stomped up right in front of the 2
boys, they did their best to look unmoved even though it was clear they were
simultaneously horrified and thrilled – when he danced in front of the mid-teen
emo-girl, she totally lost it and actually broke her aloofness to giggle – when
he danced after the waitresses, they screamed a little and hurried faster on
their way – when he strayed into the rooms of the restaurant where people were
eating, he was totally ignored and returned to the stage a little defeated –
his antics (and the great music) eventually drew a crowd of 15-20 people but it
seemed to be people who’d been dining there for the most part – but suddenly
everybody was dancing including the kid with flip flops and a backpack on and
the curly haired girl with a military jacket and the sweet laughing woman with
her boyfriend – at one point, he had to yell at his bandmate who had joined the
dancing crowd, “Hey, you’re in the band, remember?!” – so, in sum, I say listen
to this band, but recorded rather than live, because otherwise you’ll just
laugh
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