February 28 2007: Mirah, the Blow - Iron Horse, Northampton MA

Well, the show was sold out. I didn't know this until 8 hours prior to the doors opening. And I didn't have a ticket. And I suppose that if a Mirah/Blow co-bill is going to sell out any small town in the country, that town would probably be Northampton. But it never occurred to me that I might want to plan for this contingency. I mean, the last time I saw Mirah was back in Portland a few months before I left, and she was playing in somebody's apartment and sitting on the bed while playing to maybe 3 dozen people at the most. But I will never again underestimate the formidable Smith Girl demographic.

Because the Iron Horse was about as full as it possibly could have been. There were no tables anywhere on the downstairs level and people were PACKED and standing all the way back to the bar. The upstairs had tables but was no less full of bodies. And people were on the stairs. People were on the side of the stage. People were everywhere there was an empty space to be. There's absolutely no way the Iron Horse was within the fire code.

But I had a great seat upstairs because I was the second person in the line because I had to stand in the cold for no less than two hours in order to secure one of the few tickets they had available at the door. But it was probably worth it. I got to listen to Khaela play songs about driving up and down State Street and Mirah was playing with a drummer who wore an Oly Beer tshirt, and in between sets one of their friends came on stage and demonstrated her P-Style invention. She did this by unzipping her fly and using the P-Style as a trough via which she was able to piss into a bucket. And I guess if there's one thing that Smith Girls like it's women pissing into buckets on stage. Such a cheer I had not heard in all my life. I wonder how many bought their very own P-Style at the merch table. I swear I am not making a word of this up.

And Mirah played really nicely, mostly stuff from "C'mon Miracle" with a few new songs and a few old ones and a few really old ones like "Telephone Wires" and "Person Person." "Mt. Saint Helens" was maybe the best song of the night, but they were all pretty good, as could be expected

So yeah - interesting night all around. But good times.

February 24 2007: The Amity Front - Bishop's Lounge, Northampton MA

Woke up at 445am in order to be ready for the carpool at 530. An hour's drive later I was in Pittsfield for the first day of my clinical assignment at the hospital there. And thirteen hours after that I was back in the car headed for Northampton. So needless to say it was about fucking time for a drink.

So a nice quietish couple beers with the full carpool (Caitlin, Alicia, Shoshana) were had at the Dirty Truth, and then Shoshana left for home and the rest of us headed to Bishop's to catch the Amity Front. And what good times it was. Sweeney and both the Kristens were there, along with Erin Eichenberger who was in town, and Adam's friend Greg was drinking actual liquor! I swear!

And the Amity Front played a couple sets of the standard tunes and Bishop's had a pretty good porter on draft and everyone was dancing and we didn't leave until 130. For those keeping track at home, that's almost 22 hours after the alarm clock went off. It was worth it.

February 22 2007: William Elliott Whitmore, Backyard Tire Fire, Fancy Trash - Iron Horse, Northampton MA

School not happening tomorrow, and William Elliott Whitmore playing at the Iron Horse again, and Adam coming out for the show, and Classmate Caitlin coming out too, and Ben putting me on the list, and BBC Porter coming out of a tube attached to a keg...these things add up to pretty good times.

Got there early to see the Trash play, and there were a fair number of folks doing the same. And the Trash played really well! It was probably the best show I've seen them play. Short and sweet and apparently Dave's vocal stylings have grown on me.

And William Elliott Whitmore had all sorts of people there to yell and cheer and do stuff like that. The tables and chairs were removed from the main floor area and people were going nuts! And he played just as well as he did when I saw him a few months ago. Sweeney was digging it, Caitlin was digging it, I was digging it. Ben was drinking free drinks downstairs and missing out. He closed the set with "Black Iowa Dirt" and it was just about perfect.

But - in between the last time I was at the Iron Horse and this time, the price of a beer has increased 31.25% to $5.25. This hardly seems in line with inflation. But as far as I can tell they're the only folks in town willing to sell me a BBC Porter on draft, so I guess they can charge whatever they like. Motherfuckers.

February 14 2007: Sonic Youth, Wooden Wand - Academy of Music, Northampton MA

It was a snow day! School was canceled, work called and said I could sleep in and get paid anyway, and Sonic Youth were playing.

Whitney was supposed to come up and see the show but was deterred by snow. Then Adam was supposed to join me but was deterred by a combination of Valentine's day and his own inherent tendency to be deterred no matter what the day. But I talked Ben into coming at the last minute, and we enjoyed ourselves.

I don't know Sonic Youth very well, but it was fun to see them play. "Do You Believe in Rapture?" was great, as was "Teenage Riot." The set was mostly new material.

And there's not much else to say. The only other time I've seen Sonic Youth play was at Bumbershoot a few years ago, during the day at the stadium, and everyone was jumping around and Kim was dancing all over the stage, and I just assumed at the time that surely this must be her big-festival mode of conduct. But no, she was all over the stage of the little 2/3 full (due to snow) Academy of Music too.

And Wooden Wand, who I saw open for Vanderslice last year, were nice to hear again. I don't know that I'd go out and buy one of their albums brand new, but if I saw it used and was feeling impulsive I'd probably pick it up. How's that for a great lukewarm middle-of-the-road endorsement?

And, I almost ended my streak. As we're sitting in our seats waiting for the music to start, Ben says to me, "Hey, there goes J Mascis," but I didn't want to be an asshole rubbernecker. So I didn't see him. Which means that I've lived here for more than a year now and have yet to see J around town. What the fuck.

Also, Thurston Moore is really tall. I'd forgotten that.

February 4 2007: Josh Ritter, Stephen Kellogg - Latchis Theater, Brattleboro VT

So this was a really, really nice show. Ritter was playing solo, which solved all the problems he/I had with the show last year in Shelburne Falls, and I'd never seen him without a band before. "Harrisburg" was great to hear again despite some disagreement between myself and Mr. Ritter on an appropriate strum pattern. "Monster Ballads" and "Kathleen" were both perfect, and the set-closer was "Here at the Right Time" and I don't think I've ever enjoyed that song as much as I did watching him play it there with just his guitar and voice, singing and playing on the edge of the stage with the lights way down and no amplification. Chariots, if you're out there please swing low.

And the theatre was beautiful - pretty much the same size/setup as the Aladdin, with old Greek-type statues all over the place and constellations painted onto the dark blue ceiling.

But despite all this I kind of fucked things up and didn't get to appreciate the show as much as I think I could/should have. I went up with Adam and Sairi, and we met up with their friend Drew, and we all had a really good time drinking some really good BBC beers before the show. And it was lots of fun, but then the show started and Josh Ritter just isn't the kind of guy you want to watch play near-perfect songs while feeling the alcohol buzz around in your frontal lobe. Songs like "Girl in the War" were probably much better than I remember/realized them being. And in that sort of half-buzz state I like things short and to the point, none of which "Thin Blue Flame" is. This is all very frustrating in retrospect. But how does a guy turn down a beer with friends? How?

However, as a bit of an aside and to perhaps justify the night a little bit, it crosses my mind that I've put Josh Ritter on waaaaaaaay to high of a pedestal. It's pretty likely that really pulling off "Thin Blue Flame" live is nearly impossible, and any performance of "Girl in the War" that isn't a note-for-note recreation of the first time I heard it a few years ago in Portland is likely scientifically provable to be inferior.

It really was a great show though. I paid $18 for a ticket, making it at one of the most expensive shows I've seen in a while, but I'd have paid twice that and still felt like I was getting the good end of the deal.