In an earlier post I took on Sasha Frere-Jones' hypothetical alter ego and commented on the state of indie rock. Last night I went to the Rosebuds' show at the Blind Pig, and was reminded anew why I care about the whole indie scene to begin with. You see, A2--like many college towns, I suppose--has been emptied of its sheepskin boots and Hollister t-shirts. It's just me, Sugarpockets, some other bar exam preppers, a few undergrad summer-schoolers, and the locals. (After four years, I've discovered there are some.) Given the depopulation of this place, the show, as expected, was maybe a quarter-full. 'Pockets and I pulled up stools right to the front of the stage and sat and watched. There wasn't much cigarette smoke. No elbows to the ribs. No obscured lines of sight. Just a band playing its heart out and a few appreciative souls. And that's why indie rock has flourished like it has: You can come to know intimately the band you love.
The Rosebuds--whose latest effort is a light disco-pop-tinged affair with melifluous lyrics, jangly guitars, and catchy keyboards--have been playing to packed houses throughout their current tour, but if they were disappointed with last night's showing, there was no telling. Ivan, the limping frontman, a guy whose principal interests are basketball and rocking out--they're mine too, but unlike him I engage with them from the comfort of my couch--strolled around the bar during the opening act, mingling with the little people. It was the strangest thing. He wasn't an aloof rock star. Eventually, he came our way, and I told him how 'Pockets wanted "Shake Our Tree" (below) to be our wedding song. He was clearly distressed by the undanceablity of the choice, but was flattered, talked to me about WXDU, and agreed that it's a drag getting old (and being at indie rock shows).
Then he and his wife/co-conspirator Kelly and the rest of the band played their set. At the end, Ivan grabbed a guitar, Kelly got her moraccas, and they moved all of us to the back hallway and opened up the doors. They closed the show with an acoustic version of "Shake Our Tree," which they dedicated to me and 'Pockets. Then they manned the t-shirt stands, and 'Pockets and I strolled home along an empty Main Street, thankful we're not the kind of people who think the pinnacle of live entertainment is 80-dollar nosebleeds at Madison Square Garden.
The Rosebuds -- Shake Our Tree.mp3
The Rosebuds -- Get up Get Out.mp3
5 comments:
first off, i love the rosebuds. i happened to catch them when they were opening up for...someone and they were just a lot of fun. no pretense.
man, i thought i was gonna choose your wedding song! i had quite a streak there of choosing wedding songs. okay fine, it was only once, but i consider that to be quite a feat.
to be fair, they also dedicated the song to their friends who were stuck on the sidewalk because the horrible people at the blind people wouldn't let them in. no ids perhaps? that's why the whole show moved to the back of the venue.
i went to a wedding last year with the wedding song you had picked out on one of the friends club trips to chicago. what are your suggestions?
Thanks CFTS, I took your recommendation to heart and went to see the rosebuds last night and it was a great show. there was also a very good opening band, land of talk, that was a lot of fun and took a liking to one of my friends. We ended up doing shots w/ the band and had a great time. Sadly, we're all paying for it today.
uh..."wind beneath my wings?"
kidding.
i'm going to think very carefully about this one for the next 24 hours. perhaps i'll blog my response. we'll see how motivated i become.
Hey, Collin, that's pretty cool. Yeah, we were only half-paying attention to Land of Talk, but the few songs I heard of theirs were good, and they are blowing it up in the blogosphere. They are another Montreal success story. I "picked up" their EP and am digging it. Shots with the band? Nice.
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