Results from Sunday's slugfest at the Rock and Roll Hotel are in and the winner of GL Naut's Favorite Band (Of The Moment) Award goes to...Blitzen Trapper! Yessir, the Portland, Oregon group brought it hard and did not disappoint. With six members, three sets of guitars, and three synthesizers they barely fit on stage, but that didn't keep them from banging tambourines and dancing all over the place. Shoegazers they were not, that's for sure. As I had mentioned in my preview, I was a bit concerned about their eclecticism, though to be honest it was a breath of fresh air. Their stoner-countryish stuff still stood out in my opinion, but the spazzed-out "Miss Spiritual Tramp", album opener "Devil's a-Go-Go", and space-oddity "Sci-Fi Kid" were extremely fun in a live setting. AND, they had an attentive and energetic crowd at their disposal, which made their set that much more enjoyable.
That energy and the carefree feel of the night took a sharp nosedive, though, as David Vandervelde and company came on stage. After the first song, "Cute Pretender" - from the new Nothin' No EP, the majority of the crowd took off, leaving maybe 20 people or so to revel in the bluesy sounds of the Moonstation House Band. But that reveling was rather short-lived, as a noticeably perturbed Vandervelde cut the set after about six songs. Only at one fan's insistence did he return and play the infamous Stones cut, "Cocksucker Blues". I loved it, as I knew I would, but it was rather disheartening to see a mostly empty venue.
This is not a new or unique situation; many musicians, fans, bloggers, etc. have commented on the lameness of DC concert-goers. They talk through sets, they don't cheer, they come late and they leave early. I mean, this isn't a Nationals game folks! It's Rock and Roll! I know giving tours of the Capitol is hard work and you have to deal with constituents, like, all day, but come the eff on people. You learn about new bands by sticking it out and, oh, I don't know, actually listening to them.
Blitzen Trapper - "Wild Mountain Nation"
3 comments:
maybe if the boring opening band hadn't gone on half an hour late i woulda stayed for more of DV. i guess i didn't miss much after leaving after 5 songs. sunday nights is rough, yo.
hey, thanks for the comment, and i hear ya, sundays are hard. it's just that i thought it was one of the better double bills that i had seen in a while and i was upset that DV got a raw deal. they really should stick to posted set times in the future...
Agreed that Blitzen Trapper easily the more impressive band of the night. Its a fact - if you have a bass player with a jewfro and a fu manchu playing a viola bass you probably rock pretty hard. DV was definitely solid but its tough when you lose 2/3 of the audience after 2 songs. Of note though -- nice job in turning DV's 'Feet of a Liar' from slow and spacey album version into a full bluesy standard -- probably my favorite song of the night.
all the way from the 'stock - mark.
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