What do you get for doing the Dark Lord's dirty work? Murder!
I got to the venue around 8:30 last night, which was plenty early. Doors were at 8, but the show didn't start until 9 and there were two opening bands. The first band, What Time Is It, Mr. Fox? was slightly hit or miss for me. They were good, but it was only about every other song that really grabbed me. They had a slightly bluesy feel, amplified by the suits and fedora ensembles many of them wore. Plus they had a fiddler, and that is always a good thing*.
The second band, Aberdeen City was good in an extraordinarily generic way. The music was good, and I found myself nodding along with the beat and all of that, but I couldn't recall a single song of theirs now. They sounded far too much like any ten bands you'd hear on the radio these days. I did find their drummer fascinating, but only because of how extraordinarily out of place he looked. The guitarist, bassist and vocalist were these three super skinny, 2007 rock types, who would fit in just fine in a Gap commercial... The drummer reminded me a lot of Carl, if Carl had a mullet and a handlebar mustache. I shit you not.
Anyway, at eleven HUMANWINE finally took the stage, and I was starting to worry about how late I could stay before I missed the last bus home. I only stayed for another half an hour, which was a good thing, since I made it back to Wonderland a scant fifteen minutes before the last bus rolled in to take me home. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the few songs I did get to hear. I was torn between who to watch. I was excited about seeing Brian** drum again, and, I'll be honest, got a little hot during his little mini solo at the end of their sea shanty. I almost always watch the drummer at concerts, anyway, just because they're usually the ones moving the most. But Brian is so expressive, so alive when he's playing that I actually moved to a different part of the room when I realized I wouldn't have a good view of him from where I was sitting. I couldn't miss seeing him drum.
And then I kept getting distracted by Holly. I've never seen a vocalist move the way she does; Every song was like a choreographed monologue. And she's beautiful. In all the photos I've seen of her, my eyes are drawn to that tattoo on her chin, and I think, "Why would anyone do that to themselves?" But in person her tattoos seemed no more gaudy than the make-up most people wear, and I found myself staring at her eyes whenever I could see them (and when I couldn't, I found myself staring at the delicious tapering and flaring of her waist and hips--by far my favorite curve on any woman).
I am, of course, sad that I didn't get to stick around longer than that, but very glad I went.
*I have, for my entire adult life, and most of my childhood, wished I could fiddle. I always enjoyed playing my clarinet, and being part of the band, but it's always the violin part in any given song that makes me stop and really listen. When I go to a concert, it's only the band's violinist/fiddler that gives me that wish-I-was-up-there-why-isn't-that-me feeling that I sometimes get at an excellent play. If my grade school had offered violin lessons (and I'd known enough to take them), I suspect there's a good chance I'd be an out of work musician these days, rather than an out of work actress.
**Brian was dressed like some sort of coal miner, zombie. Or something. He was filthy, and wore an old fashioned cap and a dingy, once-red handkerchief around his neck. Has he been doing this at the other HUMANWINE shows?
The second band, Aberdeen City was good in an extraordinarily generic way. The music was good, and I found myself nodding along with the beat and all of that, but I couldn't recall a single song of theirs now. They sounded far too much like any ten bands you'd hear on the radio these days. I did find their drummer fascinating, but only because of how extraordinarily out of place he looked. The guitarist, bassist and vocalist were these three super skinny, 2007 rock types, who would fit in just fine in a Gap commercial... The drummer reminded me a lot of Carl, if Carl had a mullet and a handlebar mustache. I shit you not.
Anyway, at eleven HUMANWINE finally took the stage, and I was starting to worry about how late I could stay before I missed the last bus home. I only stayed for another half an hour, which was a good thing, since I made it back to Wonderland a scant fifteen minutes before the last bus rolled in to take me home. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the few songs I did get to hear. I was torn between who to watch. I was excited about seeing Brian** drum again, and, I'll be honest, got a little hot during his little mini solo at the end of their sea shanty. I almost always watch the drummer at concerts, anyway, just because they're usually the ones moving the most. But Brian is so expressive, so alive when he's playing that I actually moved to a different part of the room when I realized I wouldn't have a good view of him from where I was sitting. I couldn't miss seeing him drum.
And then I kept getting distracted by Holly. I've never seen a vocalist move the way she does; Every song was like a choreographed monologue. And she's beautiful. In all the photos I've seen of her, my eyes are drawn to that tattoo on her chin, and I think, "Why would anyone do that to themselves?" But in person her tattoos seemed no more gaudy than the make-up most people wear, and I found myself staring at her eyes whenever I could see them (and when I couldn't, I found myself staring at the delicious tapering and flaring of her waist and hips--by far my favorite curve on any woman).
I am, of course, sad that I didn't get to stick around longer than that, but very glad I went.
*I have, for my entire adult life, and most of my childhood, wished I could fiddle. I always enjoyed playing my clarinet, and being part of the band, but it's always the violin part in any given song that makes me stop and really listen. When I go to a concert, it's only the band's violinist/fiddler that gives me that wish-I-was-up-there-why-isn't-that-me feeling that I sometimes get at an excellent play. If my grade school had offered violin lessons (and I'd known enough to take them), I suspect there's a good chance I'd be an out of work musician these days, rather than an out of work actress.
**Brian was dressed like some sort of coal miner, zombie. Or something. He was filthy, and wore an old fashioned cap and a dingy, once-red handkerchief around his neck. Has he been doing this at the other HUMANWINE shows?