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indie-snob>+!#
blood brothers @ the bottom lounge (7-10-03)
with life rocks, dance disaster movement, these arms are snakes |
I know, perhaps it's odd to see Norah Jones, Placebo and the Blood Brothers all in a matter of 48 hours or so, but hey, I'm a weird guy who likes Seattle-based post-punk. While I consider the Blood Brothers to be the more "outcasts" of the post-punk scene there (somehow I don't envision a whole lot of moshing at Pretty Girls Make Graves or Modest Mouse shows), I still think they're an interesting band. Life Rocks opened the show. I could go on and on about how tremendously crappy they were, how the drums were sloppy and how the guitarist didn't even know how to play guitar (as he played no real chords), how the singer wasn't singing and sounded like a beached whale... I could go on about that, but I think it's better to know that Life Rocks is actually a Chicago joke band. Indeed. Funny stuff, as long as you know that they're not to be taken seriously. Luckily, their set was only eight minutes long. (1-21-04: PLEASE TAKE A LOOK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS REVIEW FOR AN UPDATE ABOUT THIS BAND) My favorite band of the night followed, a nice Seattle band called the Dance Disaster Movement. Despite the limiting factor that the band was only two members, they created a full dance arsenal through the magic of sampling (lots of keyboard and guitar samples). Somehow, there was just a lot to love about DDM. Their music was full of sing-a-longs, shouts, claps... everything. In fact, they reminded me a lot of !!! (chk chk chk) but without the intensity. Great dance music. Great band. Definitely a fun band to see live. By the time These Arms are Snakes began to play, the crowd started getting crazy. The band itself wasn't all that impressive (a screamy lead singer, basic drumming, some electronics, but fantastic guitar lines), but they still were pretty good. People felt the need, however, to begin moshing already, even though the music wasn't perfectly suitable for that. (In fact, I got kicked in the head by someone who I guess tried to crowd surf? I don't really know how that happened.) I guess I'd describe them as hardcore... but I don't really know... they weren't all that memorable. Not particularly worth checking out in my mind, but nothing to run away from, either. And so the squeeze started as the Blood Brothers took the stage. The Seattle quintet (who actually features two members who AREN'T WHITE, a triumph in today's indie scene) began loud, began fast, began screaming and continued throught their hour set. The audience bounced, they moshed, they crowd-surfed, they basically went crazy. I have to say that most of my friends find this type of show a lot of fun, the kind where you get bruised and pushed and sweaty, but for me, I don't like being pushed so hard against a sharp metal baracade that I can't breathe with people dripping on me (including the one singer). Therefore, my impression of their live set was made not so much by the band itself, but rather the audience. The band, actually, was great. The two "singers" went together really well live, and tracks with keyboards sounded phenomenol. Most of the stuff they played was off Burn Piano Island, Burn (Artist Direct Records), but they did play a couple numbers off previous works, like one of my favorite Blood Bros. songs "Doctor! Doctor!" I must say that I also enjoyed "Ambulance Vs. Amublance" a whole lot, too. Interesting show to see, but I'm not sure I'd go to see them again (although I am, considering they'll be on tour in September with one of my favorite bands, Cursive (whose shirt I was ironically wearing that night when the band announced that)). Very energetic, by both the audience and the band. I think, perhaps, that is the best way to describe it. ---> UPDATE (1-21-04) <---- From : Life Rocks! Given that, I feel like a real asshole, especially rereading my short review. I had actually only gone on the impression the Blood Brothers vocalist had given me about the band, saying: "And how about Life Rocks, those guys sure were funny." Being utterly confused by their set already, I just took that to be that Life Rocks was a joke band. And, what can I say, besides that while I may not have enjoyed the Life Rocks set, what they're doing is still admirable, and I hope this provides an ample description over what I previously said. It's difficult to tell when young kids are on stage whether they are trying to be different or just difficult. So, my most sincere apologies to the band.
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