The Ratboys - Topshelf Records’ unofficial SXSW showcase Friend Oasis as an interactive, online festival - May 1, 2020

[from Chicago, IL] My current status: stopping ¾ through my jog to buy cigarettes …. …This is not a cry for help – drama and selfish bring joy to my life. I know that I have a job, a home, and my health. And I swear that I do not feel misaligned with both my conservative and liberal brethren. And I swear I’m not nihilistic. I do not doubt the very structure of our society. I am enthused about my, and our, future. So, to the point, I learned of this event because I get emails from Topshelf Records. Who is Topshelf? Why do I get their emails? Unclear. I managed to ‘find time’ because …. Ja. I’m currently all about the remote events, and they referenced SXSW! This band has a misleading name. I was fondly imagining some dirty punk. No. The band member on the left was a pert snide girl in a thick textured buttoned shirt and a ballcap in seemingly matching material. Worse, the material was in this really unsavory tan color. I liked her more once it became clear she was trying hard, but honestly, you’re going to need to try hard if you’re going to wear clothes like that. The band member on the right, a boy in braids, was cute. He gave me stuff to think about, what with his “Morbid Stuff” hat.  They were an indie nerd confection, rather, a nerd indie confection. She encouraged the audience to attend their YouTube event that night where she would be ranking her top ten Sponge Bob episodes. Her sidekick said: “If it’s not on YouTube, it doesn’t exist.” Disturbing. Because our entire lives are about to fully shift into virtual land, a la Black Mirror. Disturbing, because I recently discovered (what with my newfound time) that YouTube has these amazing music channels – which presumably every once else has known forever because they’re not old goats like me. The Ratboys are jangly indie pop – a bit of a 90s alt-pop sound. Sometimes, their guitars got a little hard and sometimes her wail got louder. They did a psych-y song. There were twee moments. He evoked a lapsteel sound from his instrument. It’s possible they sound different with full band and in a different context. She described the green screen as “their schtick” but it sounded like a recent schtick. (I could say that word all day long.) They reminded me of Palehound, from Boston. My bestie from when I was 18, FuckTheDJ, pretty much ensured I would continue this path of taking note of the music I see. In a miracle of our fucking existence, FuckTheDJ emailed me about the time we saw Palehound, right after I saw this show. We really are one in the universe. Similarly, my Sunday was all about psychic occurrences from the universe, occurrences encouraging my recent dedication to online dating. What better time? Potential datees filled with fresh fear of their mortality and their aloneness. In only a few examples, the AllTrails app was the first thing my phone opened to in the morning, and the penny from BrightShards fell to the ground after a year on the shelf. I am not nihilistic... I do not doubt the very structure of our society... But I’m probably going to unsubscribe to Topshelf Records emails.