Riddles were abound in the month of November – look below for details –
Melt Banana – Nov 8th – Club Dada – Dallas,TX
I don’t get to see my old pal Tony as often as we would like but try to make sure to get together when certain bands plays. We recently caught the Melvins and a particularly odd but successful night at this very venue for Kool Keith a few months back. If I’ve seen Melt Banana 20 times (and I believe I have) the only ones I’ve seen without Tony were the ones in NYC. So naturally we made plans to attend together.
Tony just moved into a new place that I haven’t seen yet so I met him over there and he gave me a tour of the place before heading out.
Along the way he asks me if I was aware that Melt-Banana had traded drums for a drum machine on their latest album Fetch
and that they were going to be playing as a two-piece tonight. The answer was no to both and in a mixture of confusion and somewhat dissapointment I decided that denying this fact would make me feel better as well as satisfy my need to playfully annoy Tony.
He is an interesting conumdrum at times as he’s on one hand wound tighter than the drums he plays and on the other a very calm precence that will surprise you with you outrageous pranks. Either way, I love getting him worked up, so just short of calling him a liar, I decided to tell him just how wrong he was about this. Dead wrong. More on this later.
An added attraction was the band Retox that I’ve been wanting to see – their affiliation with Mike Patton’s Ipecac Label had peaked both out interests and as both bands were playing Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin tomorrow, putting them together for a pick-up date was a natural fit.
They were cool and all, and obviously this was a show for people that love it loud, noisy and chaotic but I have to admit they really did nothing for me and I probably would make no further effort to see them again. And their singer was just too…pretty…for a band like this.
As they were finishing up, I recognize one of the Melt Banana guys standing in front of us and to twist the knife deeper I get Tony’s attention and point at the guy and mouth “He’s their drummer” haha – Tony is now livid, as in wanna-make-a-bet/are-you-calling-me-a-liar? livid. I start to agree to a small wager just to make it that much more fun, as we run into our buddy Wes. I tell Wes of our little difference of opinion and almost as if I had paid him off, Wes sides with me, now pushing Tony just that much further off the deep end.
Shortly after the band takes the stage – as a two-piece: Tony you fucker –
Although I’m sure he was right, it still came as a surprise to see the absence of a drum kit as the band launched into their performance. Once the lights went into hiding and darkness engulfed the room, vocalist Yasuko Onuki took the stage and gleefully raised a glowing MIDI controller above her head as if it were a portable gaming console and she had just unlocked a boast-worthy achievement.
She was reassuring us that Melt-Banana still has their percussive side covered while performing as a duo. Throughout their 45 minute set, Onuki shrieked while triggering hard-hitting drum blasts and bass lines as if the controller had an option for turbo mode. The effect was akin to a battle with guitarists Ichirou Agata’s pedal-abusing guitar experiments. While most guitarists in the realm of noise are content to loop over their sounds again and again, Agata’s looping style was more akin to a Möbius strip: an inescapable head trip.
Beneath the cacophony of Agata’s chaotic but controlled blend of grindcore and punk and Onuki’s urgent yelps were delightful pop melodies. At the set’s midpoint, Onuki introduced an extended sequence of songs that were as short as four seconds and never longer than 30.
Though I defintely would still prefer to see them perform as a full band, it was still a worthy show and another chapter in a long strange trip from this group.
Afterwards we hit the merch booth, as part and parcel of me “losing” the bet I was to buy him a t-shirt of his choice ( a decision I had already made to repay him for buying me a Kool Keith shirt last time we were here) and as he picks out the one he wants he tells the merch guy “….and my bitch here is gonna pay for it” while pointing at me – Touche – however….as I’m looking at the T-shirt its a child-like hand drawn stageplot proving they were gonna play as a two-piece – He def knew before they went on – Inside information, that’s some Martha Stewart shit Tony.
Mike Doughty – Nov 12th – Trees – Dallas,TX
Forgive me as I might have told this story before – Here goes: Almost 10 years ago I was seeing this girl whose taste in music I wasn’t terribly sold on and though she was a lovely girl, gave me no confidence when it came to this. She would play this one band/singer incessantly that kinda drove me nuts, primarily because it beared her stamp of approval.
But somehow it got under my skin….and even years after we stopped seeing each other I would get those songs in my head – So much so that I even crossed the line of contacting her after years of silence just to find out who the band/singer was. Turns out it was this dude Mike Doughty and the band was Soul Coughing.
Figures I thought, though I knew nothing of the band, other than they seemed/sounded like my worst nightmare – that white-boy 90’s college-y Dave Matthews thing.
But than a few game changers came – One, ironically a bit after this I was on a panel at CMJ with Doughty and he impressed me.
Combine that with the song that inspired me to call me ex in the first place I would come to learn was St. Louise is Listening – and in search of it I discovered many others that I liked as well in spite of myself and how fucking weird the music was.
On the strength of this when I saw that Doughty was performing a few years ago I decided to go and I learned alot at that show:
One – That he fucking HATES Soul Coughing –
Two – …. and the bitterness is still so fresh that he actually wrote a book about the nightmarish experience called the Book of Drugs
Three – That he has NEVER and will NEVER play Soul Coughing songs as a solo artist and in fact, he often reacted with vitriol when fans in the audience called for their favorite Soul Coughing songs.
Recognizing me from our panel discussion, Doughty gives me a copy of his book and I go home and read it, only to find out that minus the drugs, he and I are THE SAME PERSON – it really fucked my head up while also giving me a sense of relief.
I caught his show again last year when it came through and though I like his solo stuff and the witty banter that typically flows between his songs, when I’m at home, I don’t listen to it, I listen to Soul Coughing. Though I know its futile to think he’s gonna change his mind and launch into Casiotone Nation.
That’s why it was such a jaw-dropping/Hell has frozen over moment when I heard that he was coming again and this time he was ONLY doing SC stuff and doing it revamped as a way to “reclaim” the music before it was put through the filter of the band.
The show actually started with a few fairly faithful recreations of SC songs Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago and Sugar Free Jazz felt eerily similar to the originals, and he then launched into a version of Bus to Beelzebub that while a bit more laid back than the original, made use of many of the same samples.
It was light on the witty banter and instead, Doughty drove the mood and flow of the night strictly through the music.
While most of the songs were revamped considerably, they came across as genuine reinterpretations which maintained the integrity of the original music. This was partly due to the heavy reliance on a sampler and the use of an upright bass. But it was also very clear that Doughty was finally getting to play these songs the way he thought they should sound, and he seemed deeply engrossed in the music all night long. This was particularly powerful during a three song stretch where the rest of the band left the stage,and when they returned, yes, finally I heard Mike Doughty sing St. Louise is Listening.
Only time will tell if this tour is a purging/closure moment for Doughty or a reconnection/fresh start. Hopefully, these songs will remain in his repertoire for years to come, since they showcase some of his greatest moments as a lyricist. But if this tour is more of an attempt for Doughty to come to peace with the music of Soul Coughing before putting it to rest forever, then I’m truly grateful I got to experience it in person at least once.
Setlist –
Sugar Free Jazz
Bus to Beelzebub
The Idiot Kings
Unmarked Helicopters
Lazybones
Screenwriter’s Blues
Uh, Zoom Zip
Mr. Bitterness
Soft Serve
How Many Cans?
Monster Man
True Dreams of Wichita
St. Louise Is Listening
Moon Sammy / So Far I Have Not Found the Science
Super Bon Bon
Janine
Circles
Slayer – Nov 13th – Southside Music Hall – Dallas,TX
If you follow Slayer’s career than you already know that sadly co-founder and principal song-writer, guitarist Jeff Hanneman passed away this year at the ridiculously young age of 49 – that comes after him being forced to take an absence from the band the last two years due to contracting a flesh-eating disease after a bite from a Brown Recluse spider. This was followed by original (and beloved) drummer Dave Lombardo who returned to the band 8 years ago, after being gone for 15 years, now being pushed out once more over financial disputes.
For now at least, Gary Holt of Exodus who has been filling in for Hanneman the last two years while he was sick and Paul Bostaph, who replaced Lombardo before in 1992, is back behind the drum kit. Nary a peep’s been uttered by the band or its management if Holt and Bostaph are permanent members or not.
Slayer-lite was a term I was hearing by the cynics but on this tour as a tribute to Hanneman they were scheduled to play a very old school set, composed exclusiely of material from the 1980s. Was NOT going really an option?
With the best of intentions I decided that since it was gonna be an old school Slayer show, we should do it old school and instead of everyone meeting at the show or running into each other, we should meet up beforehand like we used to. My friend Mike D was just up the street from me so we decided to meet at his house. His old High School buddy Keith, who was most recently also my Rocklahoma camping partner, who is a Slayer fanatic was already at Mike’s when I arrived.
Nothing seemed to be going right for us – After a truly bizarre incident in a Mcdonald’s drive-thru where communication had completely broke down for close to 10 mins with the attendant – then I get a phone call that Jess and her mom are broken down on the side of the road (the ONE time I don’t drive) and oddly it seemed as if I couldn’t give my extra ticket away – not because no one cared to see the show, but because everyone already had tickets – This was a show not to miss apparently.
We arrive at the venue and are joined by one of Mike’s co-workers Steve and his girlfriend Ashley – none of us besides Mike had met Steve and even Mike had yet to meet Ashley. Thankfully Steve was cool and Ashley and I just totally bonded immediately. There were some shananigans afoot as I learned that the booze purchased earlier at the liquor store was in fact a bribe to a person Mike knows working the box office to ensure his and his three guests’ entry. Pretty Metal.
I claimed my tickets shortly thereafter, still unsure of what to do with my extra tkt. I called my friend Randy who happened to be standing in line next to me who already had a ticket – Man everyone is here!
A couple of guys from out of town hear of my plight and ask me if I have an extra so I gift one of them with it and inside we go.
Already on stage is 4Arm from Australia who had invited me to the show –
In the spirit of this awesome revival of young guys being directly influenced by 80s Thrash Metal like Havok & Warbeast, these guys kick total ass.
Horrible name which I wish they would have rethought but legit onstage. Like anything else that comes back around I fear that soon people will be calling certain bandwagon jumpers New Fake Thrash instead of just New Thrash, or is it Nu Thrash? haha – with a bad band name like this it could easily have cost them if they hadn’t come in the first of what I see will be many waves of New Thrash Metal.
While the second opener was getting setup the more the jokes flew between Ashley and I – What I learned is that her and Steve have only been going out for a very short time – Steve. while a fun, nice guy is not a Metal person and had only agreed to come at Mike’s insistance as well as the promise of securing their entry. He had asked her to come to humor Mike. She’s a teacher and wants to appear conservative and agrees to come. But what he didn’t know as I was learning first hand from her, is that she’s a TOTAL Metal chick/awesome fun, wild party girl – She just needed a maniac to make her feel comfortable to let that out. I am one such maniac.
While Mike and Steve are catching up, Ashley and I are having a blast people watching and suggesting what she should have worn instead of her conservative teacher getup to much hilarity as the next band, Gojira, this time from France is starting.
Our friend Patrick and his crew were also roaming around here somewhere and he had reccomended them as well as Chris as regretful that when we went to Metallica a few years ago that we had missed their opening set. Sorry fellas, cool but not for me.
Ok so finally the time had arrived – that familiar ominous feeling mixed with excitement as Slayer takes the stage. It’s an old school set, holy shit what are they gonna play?? –
Opening with the magnificently epic, gloriously brutal one-two punch of Hell Awaits and The Antichrist, we were off to go a good start.
Keith, though waaaay to old to be crowd-surfing and the like (sorry dude) was off and running doing his thing and Mike doing his best to bring Steve up to speed and rock out with me, I was so grateful that Ashley was there as she was just such a blast to hang with – Her and I had dueling air-guitars rawking and just laughing and having a great time the whole show. She rules
Now one thing I really enjoy at shows like this is what we call Metal Unity – where the total stanger standing next to you will think nothing of totally rawking out with you without as much as an introduction. This was happening quite a bit which I love, however, theirs also a nerdy, one-upmanship to this culture as well, where the guy wants to show off his knowledge and try to give away the setlist – NOTHING infuriates me more than this – This one dude, probably more just lonely than interested in unity comes over to rock out with us as we are clearly the most animated bunch in the house and as the song is ending, that fun anticipation of what would be next begins again and the guys yells out “Altar of Sacrafice!!” …and sure enough that’s what came next. – So naive and a bit impressed I say “Wow man, you called it!” and then he comes right up and tries to start telling me the whole fucking setlist like an asshole.
I put my hands over my ears like a child and give him a smile but a firm “NO SPOILERS” – For the next three songs every time a song would end, I would turn around and shoot him a look and repeat it, until he finally fucked off and left us alone.
Speaking of the setlist – while it was undeniably a thrill to hear really old songs such as Black Magic and Captor of Sin performed live for the first time in forever, the majority of the songs have been constants in the band’s set for quite a while. It would have been truly monumental to hear some real obscure tracks, like Haunting the Chapel or Kill Again. or instead of always playing the same two tracks from South of Heaven (Mandatory Suicide and the title track) on every tour, How about dusting off Live Undead or Read Between the Lies? -I know peple are always gonna bitch about the setlist and you can’t please everyone, but I hate that South of Heaven’s legacy is one considered lackluster and essentially ignored. Any LP that came between Reign in Blood and Seasons in the Abyss would be thought of as not as good! – Doesn’t mean that it deserves step-child stays. Some might not even have realized that Slayer played a ferociously crushing cover of the classic Exodus track Strike of the Beast, which I thought was super cool and perhaps put to rest any uncertainty of Gary Holt’s permanent status in the band.
Setlist:
Hell Awaits
The Antichrist
Necrophiliac
Mandatory Suicide
Captor of Sin
War Ensemble
Postmortem
Altar of Sacrifice
Jesus Saves
At Dawn They Sleep
Die by the Sword
Spirit in Black
Hallowed Point
Seasons in the Abyss
Strike of the Beast (Exodus cover)
Dead Skin Mask
Raining Blood
Encore:
South of Heaven
Angel of Death
After the show, here is where things get truly weird – Mike, though having graduated in May from Business School, is a bartender and is really into the bar scene. I am not a big drinker or into the scene at all but again its old school night so I’m up for whatever he wants to do. He suggestes going to the bar that he and Steve work at. Now Mike is gay which I don’t even bat an eye at of course but come to find out that he and and Steve not only work at a gay bar, but a gay STRIP BAR & a super divey one at that – Not a homophobic bone in my body but I had to laugh that we were surely they only ones leaving the Slayer show headed there.
We get there and I don’t wanna isolate like some hater but when end up in the back bar that’s secluded while all these model dudes are running around in Underoos – If I wasn’t grateful for Ashley before I certainly was now, that I had her to look at instead. I found the whole thing funny and was being the best sport I could be about it and we had fun. However, though I like Keith just fine, Keith’s apparent only interest in life is Metal – If I’ve had 50 conversations with him over the years they have all been exclusively on the minutiae of Metal – All the way to Tulsa and back he spoke only of Metal, listened to only Metal even in the early A.M.
Hey that’s fine, I’ve enjoyed those conversations and dude just saw his fave band so let him be – However, his perspective is one of extreme naiviete and I’m not one to dispell the myth, but it can make participating in the conversation a little like not letting the cat out of the bag that there really isn’t a Santa Clause. I can have patience for that with a child but not so much with an adult. I mention this because after my opinion was asked for repeatedly and I finally gave it – the fact that it was incongruent with his (apparently fragile) idealized version of the truth, he got LEGITIMATELY angry with me and labeled me a know-it-all.
I only mention this at length because I have to laugh that I was having THAT conversation in THIS place after having just seen Slayer.
I wasn’t much for talking on the way home and was also concerned for Mike’s sober ability to get us home in one piece – The great discussion of Metal led by Keith resumed once we reached the freeway. Though he would never admit it, Mike (who shares my love for funk) had to put on a Charles Bradley cd just to change the subject because he just couldn’t take it any longer. – Good times –
Photos –
Roy Turner
Tony Wann
