Consider my life made.
A few more notes about the Heavy Trash concert. Because I will never get tired of talking about how I met Jon Spencer.
The opening act, Powersolo? Fucking amazing! Psychobilly beer-swilling Danish maniacs. The video below cannot possibly convey how wild and loud and raucous they are.
There was a lot of dancing and jumping and thrashing. Honest to Gollum, perfect openers. And, ah, heh. So the lead singer? The one who looks like Ragetti from Pirates of the Caribbean? I totally could have turned into a cliche with him.
See, early on in the show, he instructed all the ladies to take 1-2-3-4-5 steps forward and get down dancing, you know? And of all the people in the audience, only pink_dilemma and I took him up on it. So there we were, lonely and dancing away in front of the stage. And the guy comes down with his guitar and starts dancing with us. I'm talking about grinding, people. Front and back. Exhibitionism is fun! He kept trying to look up my skirt, but I protected my honor with some well-pulled faces and "chase me, chase me" dress-swishing. (After the show, I went up to him and introduced myself. "Well, you're a fine dancer." Seriously, when did I get saucy and bold? His name is Jens, and oh man, he went from zero to "Let's go somewhere I can jump you" like that.)
But let's back up a little, because that's when the real magic starts. Betsy and I got drinks, played in the photobooth, and then sort of realized I'd insisted we arrive way too early. We wandered into the show space, stood there for a bit, and then decided to investigate the merch table. The merch guy was creepy -- not in a dangerous way, but in a sad sort of way. This is obviously the only means he has of talking to women. As we're standing there investigating the wares, leaning against the sound booth, I look up and thereisJonSpencerrightaboveusOMG. He was just standing there in a pink paisley shirt, holding a cup of coffee and talking with the engineer. After spending, er, so much time with pictures and videos of him online? It was very unreal to see him in the flesh. He was relaxed, friendly, smiling (GUYS, he dimples at the SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION), and wandered around for a little bit, talking to people and signing things. This is when I should have gotten a picture with him, because my camera chose to utterly fail me during the show. (I... later realized it wasn't anything more than the shutter getting jammed. A little nudge and it was all golden. This was the morning after, of course.) Betsy kept telling me I should go up and talk to him, but I kept chickening out, not wanting to bother him.
Heavy Trash... how do I even begin? Matt Verta-Ray, the guitarist, was the first to come out and fool with the equipment. He's really not very tall. Also, a little top-heavy. And... oh man, I hate to point it out, but that amazing black pomaded hairdo of his? Is the world's best combover. He's losing it a little in the back, which makes me sad. It's okay, though, because he's one of the few people on earth who can pull off a soul patch, and damn, does that man know how to play guitar. Betsy and I were sitting on the extended stage blocks at that point. I tried getting his attention to ask if they would play "Pork Chop," but either he didn't hear or he was ignoring me. I don't blame him for either.
The show. Was. Perfect. Jon is such a consummate showman. There was dancing, and extended mid-song preaching, and at one point, he even pulled out a comb and worked on his 'do in front of us all. God, I want one. I've decided I'm going to go back in time, snag Jon Spencer when he's about my age, clone him, and bring the clone forward with me to keep for my very own. We would talk nerdy and have adventures all the livelong day. His sense of humor is utterly wicked. The body and aftermath have already been discussed. There was a drunk dude named Rich whose 37th birthday it was, and he and his friends kept harassing Jon Spencer, constantly yelling out requests, "Heavy Traaash!" and trying to drape his leather jacket over Jon's shoulders. Betsy did us all a favor by dancing with him, and accidentally punching him in the face twice. He was drunk enough that he still wanted to dance with her. I bring this up because that twit grabbed the setlist, so I can't quite tell you what they played -- though jebus, they played a lot. Most of the new album, Going Way Out with Heavy Trash, including, to my delight, "You Can't Win," "Double Line," "She Baby," and "I Want Oblivion" -- Donald Duck noises for the win, baby! There was no "Dark Hair'd Rider" or "Mr. K.I.A." or "Gatorade," alas, but we did get "The Loveless," "Lover Street," "This Day Is Mine," and "Take My Hand." Tell me, can your heart stand it? They also played "Kloi" -- "We'd like to play a traditional Cambodian song now. Lemme tell you, we were in Pittsburgh the other day, and our eyes were opened. We were enlightened."
Just. Just. I'm really sad that I can't just follow them around and go to all their shows. If you are near them -- and most of you will be -- go see them. Them's marching orders, friendslist. Screw school, screw 21+, they are worth it. They're in Toledo tonight, Columbus tomorrow, Pittsburgh on Tuesday, D.C. on Wednesday, Cambridge MA next Saturday, New Haven the Sunday, and then it's off to Europe before rounding back to the west coast later this fall. Do yourself the favor. It will be fun.
This is Jens, my Danish rocker admirer. He is enormous, gangly, and completely uninhibited, it seems.
They're so freaking Scandinavian.
Ladies and gentlemen... Jon Spencer.
Check out the eyebrows. For serious.
Whatever it is you're saying, I'll do it, I will! Somehow I feel the crappy quality of these pictures makes them more authentic.
The dress! Here are pictures from when it first arrived, in Ohio. I got a lot of compliments on it, including from a guy who "Rrrroaww!"-ed in my ear.
Ignore the goofy expression and pose. I was happy and my dad was taking the picture -- not always a great combination.
And, for good measure...
I don't understand -- but yeah, baby, I think I dig it!
The opening act, Powersolo? Fucking amazing! Psychobilly beer-swilling Danish maniacs. The video below cannot possibly convey how wild and loud and raucous they are.
Click to viewThere was a lot of dancing and jumping and thrashing. Honest to Gollum, perfect openers. And, ah, heh. So the lead singer? The one who looks like Ragetti from Pirates of the Caribbean? I totally could have turned into a cliche with him.
See, early on in the show, he instructed all the ladies to take 1-2-3-4-5 steps forward and get down dancing, you know? And of all the people in the audience, only pink_dilemma and I took him up on it. So there we were, lonely and dancing away in front of the stage. And the guy comes down with his guitar and starts dancing with us. I'm talking about grinding, people. Front and back. Exhibitionism is fun! He kept trying to look up my skirt, but I protected my honor with some well-pulled faces and "chase me, chase me" dress-swishing. (After the show, I went up to him and introduced myself. "Well, you're a fine dancer." Seriously, when did I get saucy and bold? His name is Jens, and oh man, he went from zero to "Let's go somewhere I can jump you" like that.)
But let's back up a little, because that's when the real magic starts. Betsy and I got drinks, played in the photobooth, and then sort of realized I'd insisted we arrive way too early. We wandered into the show space, stood there for a bit, and then decided to investigate the merch table. The merch guy was creepy -- not in a dangerous way, but in a sad sort of way. This is obviously the only means he has of talking to women. As we're standing there investigating the wares, leaning against the sound booth, I look up and thereisJonSpencerrightaboveusOMG. He was just standing there in a pink paisley shirt, holding a cup of coffee and talking with the engineer. After spending, er, so much time with pictures and videos of him online? It was very unreal to see him in the flesh. He was relaxed, friendly, smiling (GUYS, he dimples at the SLIGHTEST PROVOCATION), and wandered around for a little bit, talking to people and signing things. This is when I should have gotten a picture with him, because my camera chose to utterly fail me during the show. (I... later realized it wasn't anything more than the shutter getting jammed. A little nudge and it was all golden. This was the morning after, of course.) Betsy kept telling me I should go up and talk to him, but I kept chickening out, not wanting to bother him.
Heavy Trash... how do I even begin? Matt Verta-Ray, the guitarist, was the first to come out and fool with the equipment. He's really not very tall. Also, a little top-heavy. And... oh man, I hate to point it out, but that amazing black pomaded hairdo of his? Is the world's best combover. He's losing it a little in the back, which makes me sad. It's okay, though, because he's one of the few people on earth who can pull off a soul patch, and damn, does that man know how to play guitar. Betsy and I were sitting on the extended stage blocks at that point. I tried getting his attention to ask if they would play "Pork Chop," but either he didn't hear or he was ignoring me. I don't blame him for either.
The show. Was. Perfect. Jon is such a consummate showman. There was dancing, and extended mid-song preaching, and at one point, he even pulled out a comb and worked on his 'do in front of us all. God, I want one. I've decided I'm going to go back in time, snag Jon Spencer when he's about my age, clone him, and bring the clone forward with me to keep for my very own. We would talk nerdy and have adventures all the livelong day. His sense of humor is utterly wicked. The body and aftermath have already been discussed. There was a drunk dude named Rich whose 37th birthday it was, and he and his friends kept harassing Jon Spencer, constantly yelling out requests, "Heavy Traaash!" and trying to drape his leather jacket over Jon's shoulders. Betsy did us all a favor by dancing with him, and accidentally punching him in the face twice. He was drunk enough that he still wanted to dance with her. I bring this up because that twit grabbed the setlist, so I can't quite tell you what they played -- though jebus, they played a lot. Most of the new album, Going Way Out with Heavy Trash, including, to my delight, "You Can't Win," "Double Line," "She Baby," and "I Want Oblivion" -- Donald Duck noises for the win, baby! There was no "Dark Hair'd Rider" or "Mr. K.I.A." or "Gatorade," alas, but we did get "The Loveless," "Lover Street," "This Day Is Mine," and "Take My Hand." Tell me, can your heart stand it? They also played "Kloi" -- "We'd like to play a traditional Cambodian song now. Lemme tell you, we were in Pittsburgh the other day, and our eyes were opened. We were enlightened."
Just. Just. I'm really sad that I can't just follow them around and go to all their shows. If you are near them -- and most of you will be -- go see them. Them's marching orders, friendslist. Screw school, screw 21+, they are worth it. They're in Toledo tonight, Columbus tomorrow, Pittsburgh on Tuesday, D.C. on Wednesday, Cambridge MA next Saturday, New Haven the Sunday, and then it's off to Europe before rounding back to the west coast later this fall. Do yourself the favor. It will be fun.
This is Jens, my Danish rocker admirer. He is enormous, gangly, and completely uninhibited, it seems.
They're so freaking Scandinavian.
Ladies and gentlemen... Jon Spencer.
Check out the eyebrows. For serious.
Whatever it is you're saying, I'll do it, I will! Somehow I feel the crappy quality of these pictures makes them more authentic.
The dress! Here are pictures from when it first arrived, in Ohio. I got a lot of compliments on it, including from a guy who "Rrrroaww!"-ed in my ear.
Ignore the goofy expression and pose. I was happy and my dad was taking the picture -- not always a great combination.
And, for good measure...
I don't understand -- but yeah, baby, I think I dig it!