A freaking ugly mess

By only

Friday November 5, 2004

Halo 2 will just have to wait
By BEN LAI

I don’t know how they scheme up this shit, but last Saturday the VPD went to the Astoria Hotel and basically ordered the owners to cancel the Descention/Demyse/Anatolian Wisdom show and close the bar for the night. Apparently the cops were worried the crowd would start a riot and burn the hotel down like they did to the houses on Main & 12th. What the fuck? This is a concert for music fans in a city-licensed venue with staff and security, not some half-assed drunken party in an abandoned house. “Sucks but had enough dealings with the city to know when to comply or else. With this compliance we get to enjoy our beloved music another day as opposed to not at all”, says Wendythirteen. She has been putting on shows like this for years at the Cobalt/Asbalt and the most trouble you’ll get is maybe somebody will spit on your face a couple times. Not exactly a cause for a riot, folks.
Luckily the Pic’s was still open on Saturday so I went to that instead. By the way, what is the deal with having three doors at the front? I spent about three minutes deciding which one to use. Definitely no threat of the cops shutting this down—the only thing missing here was old folks line dancing. Thankfully Cuff the Duke got on stage pretty shortly. These kids have a great live show, and their recorded material doesn’t do them justice. Too bad there weren’t more people to enjoy the show.
I was going to be a dick and lock myself up at home playing video games all next week, but with so many finger-licking gigs popping up, Halo 2 will just have to wait. On Friday The Faint and TV on the Radio grace the stage of the Commodore. I’m still not sold on The Faint, but I did see TVOTR at a mad packed Pic a few months back and they are pretty fine. If out-of-town hype bands aren’t your steez, the Basement Sweets are back in action after having a baby. They will be with Kids These Days and Panurge at the Lamplighter. And at the Marine Club there’s Salmon Arm. I would go to all those if I could, but I will be sweating out at the Butchershop during a one man band showcase featuring Collapsing Opposites/Mark of the Beats/Man Meets Bear/The Rain and the Sidewalk. With each guy playing in a different corner of the room, the show will be delightfully bizarre. Come Saturday night there’s the Chromeo/No No Spots/Bakelite gig that got moved to the Brickyard, Explaining Colours to the Blind at Pat’s, and Hinterland/Hejira at the Buffalo Club. Our beautiful own Chris-a-riffic will be at the Railway Monday. Tuesday’s big with Wilco at the Orpheum, Les Savy Fav/Elizabeth/Robosexuals at Richards and of course SHiNDiG at the Railway.
The new direction Ted Leo took on his latest album is the subject of much bickering among his fans, so the least you can do is to check him (along with his Pharmacists) out at the Red Room on Wednesday. CC Rose is celebrating her birthday on the same night by playing with all her bands (The Cinch/Vancougar/The Christa Min) at the Morrissey—the incredible wonderfulness of the concept makes my knees tremble. The week also marks the start of New Music West. Everyone I’ve talked to involved in the thing is saying that this year is a freaking ugly mess; I am working on getting more info and will tell you more about that next week. Mess or not, there are still some shows worthy of your bucks. On Thursday for example, Endearing Records is putting on an excellent showcase at the Media Club with Novillero, Paper Moon and Aaron Booth. Novillero features Rod from Duotang jamming out killer keyboard tunes and Paper Moon you’ll love if you dig your pop with female vocals. And then there’s The Smears/Elizabeth/Starless Night/Feminists at the Brickyard which should be swell. Or maybe you’d rather see Dirty Blonde and The Rumours at the Penthouse?