Silent Muse in Richmond
With only a week's notice and after not nearly enough practice, the guys and I in Silent Muse played a show last night in Richmond. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
_sacrosanct_, again, at the Nanci Raygun club.
We arrived on time only to discover that early show had not yet ended. Someone had the bright idea of booking (at least) five bands for a show that needed to end before 10pm. It didn't, of course. One Bullet Short of a Massacre was the headlining act, playing the kind of roaring death metal that sounds not unlike a caravan of garbage trucks driving off the edge of a high cliff. I mean that in the best possible way. I actually do love the intensity of a live metal band and didn't so much mind the wait once I had adjusted my expectations for the night's schedule.
While several dozen kids punched each other silly in the mosh pit, I stayed back and chatted with a few homeless people that hang out in this club. One guy, while not admiring my jacket and continually greeting me with a friendly knuckle-to-knuckle fist tap sort of thing, did his best impression of a very drunken James Brown getting down to the musical stylings of One Bullet and friends. Another guy told his story about living in the Nanci Raygun whenever its doors were open, but needed to find a way to keep warm on the looming cold night that would greet him once the club closed later that evening. He was not drunk and seemed to help out unloading some of the earlier bands. Apparently the club sometimes pays him for odd jobs. I offered him the fries coming with my dinner (a rather good steak wrap) because I can't handle that much carbs in one sitting, but he declined, saying he had more food than he knew what to do with in his backpack. Good for him. Clearly, he was doing his best to manipulate me into giving him some cash. I like it when people work a little for the hand-outs. Normally, this guy sings on the streets for change, but tonight he was working his charm while others sang on stage. I liked his subtle, respectful style and I enjoyed the conversation, so I handed him a few bucks later that evening.
Silent Muse was the opening act, again, forego_likeness. As always, they performed well. I'm glad there was a greater turn out last night than the previous time we shared a bill. They deserve large crowds. I should also mention, their vocalist has an unholy addiction to printed maps. krasota rigged the interior of my jacket with clips from which I could hang several maps. I walked up to the Ego Likeness merchandise table, opened my coat to flash my wares, and said, "Hey lady, you wanna buy some maps?" She appeared amused and perhaps a little guilty that her dirty secret was known. I gave her the maps at a steep discount. Free.
Our set went well. It was nice to play to a larger crowd this time, some of whom were quite enthusiastic. Also, I hear our sound was pretty damn good on the floor. Amazing, considering we barely had time for a soundcheck. It sounded great on stage. I think I could hear my own keyboards better last night than almost any other time I've performed, which is very useful when I'm improvising (whether intentionally or unintentionally). I am quite pleased with my performance last night. I nailed a lot of difficult parts that I had been creatively ruining in the few practices we managed to have prior to this show.
Speaking of music, I need to point out what a great season this has been for new music. I've picked up a lot of new CDs over the past several months, all of which I'd encourage anyone to give a listen. Bjork, Ego Likeness, In Tenebris, Morrissey, Nick Cave, Orbital, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, and the forthcoming Mike Patton/Kaada album. All new releases this year, if not just this Fall. Oh yeah, and my band still has a CD available. For interested folks who don't live near me, we posted some info on ordering CDs. We're very unsophisticated at this point, so I'm sorry there isn't any true online ordering/paypal buttons/shopping cart type of things. But at least there's something. For anyone not adventurous enough to purchase a CD without hearing it, one of these days we're going to post 30-second samples from each of the EP's songs on the website.
_sacrosanct_, again, at the Nanci Raygun club.We arrived on time only to discover that early show had not yet ended. Someone had the bright idea of booking (at least) five bands for a show that needed to end before 10pm. It didn't, of course. One Bullet Short of a Massacre was the headlining act, playing the kind of roaring death metal that sounds not unlike a caravan of garbage trucks driving off the edge of a high cliff. I mean that in the best possible way. I actually do love the intensity of a live metal band and didn't so much mind the wait once I had adjusted my expectations for the night's schedule.
While several dozen kids punched each other silly in the mosh pit, I stayed back and chatted with a few homeless people that hang out in this club. One guy, while not admiring my jacket and continually greeting me with a friendly knuckle-to-knuckle fist tap sort of thing, did his best impression of a very drunken James Brown getting down to the musical stylings of One Bullet and friends. Another guy told his story about living in the Nanci Raygun whenever its doors were open, but needed to find a way to keep warm on the looming cold night that would greet him once the club closed later that evening. He was not drunk and seemed to help out unloading some of the earlier bands. Apparently the club sometimes pays him for odd jobs. I offered him the fries coming with my dinner (a rather good steak wrap) because I can't handle that much carbs in one sitting, but he declined, saying he had more food than he knew what to do with in his backpack. Good for him. Clearly, he was doing his best to manipulate me into giving him some cash. I like it when people work a little for the hand-outs. Normally, this guy sings on the streets for change, but tonight he was working his charm while others sang on stage. I liked his subtle, respectful style and I enjoyed the conversation, so I handed him a few bucks later that evening.
Silent Muse was the opening act, again, for
ego_likeness. As always, they performed well. I'm glad there was a greater turn out last night than the previous time we shared a bill. They deserve large crowds. I should also mention, their vocalist has an unholy addiction to printed maps. krasota rigged the interior of my jacket with clips from which I could hang several maps. I walked up to the Ego Likeness merchandise table, opened my coat to flash my wares, and said, "Hey lady, you wanna buy some maps?" She appeared amused and perhaps a little guilty that her dirty secret was known. I gave her the maps at a steep discount. Free. Our set went well. It was nice to play to a larger crowd this time, some of whom were quite enthusiastic. Also, I hear our sound was pretty damn good on the floor. Amazing, considering we barely had time for a soundcheck. It sounded great on stage. I think I could hear my own keyboards better last night than almost any other time I've performed, which is very useful when I'm improvising (whether intentionally or unintentionally). I am quite pleased with my performance last night. I nailed a lot of difficult parts that I had been creatively ruining in the few practices we managed to have prior to this show.
Speaking of music, I need to point out what a great season this has been for new music. I've picked up a lot of new CDs over the past several months, all of which I'd encourage anyone to give a listen. Bjork, Ego Likeness, In Tenebris, Morrissey, Nick Cave, Orbital, PJ Harvey, Tom Waits, and the forthcoming Mike Patton/Kaada album. All new releases this year, if not just this Fall. Oh yeah, and my band still has a CD available. For interested folks who don't live near me, we posted some info on ordering CDs. We're very unsophisticated at this point, so I'm sorry there isn't any true online ordering/paypal buttons/shopping cart type of things. But at least there's something. For anyone not adventurous enough to purchase a CD without hearing it, one of these days we're going to post 30-second samples from each of the EP's songs on the website.