Entheogen at The Alibi

another two-set night at the alibi for entheogen.  if i remember correctly, this was a good turnout, better than their previous alibi show several months earlier.  more heaviness.  and "master of puppets".

Blunted Elbows and Lord Torranaga at The Alibi

i believe this was the night that blunted elbows and his crew were plagued with equipment problems.  the result was a set that really never got to pick up any momentum.  of course we never get great turnouts on sundays anyway.  this one was kind of a dud.  kind of surprising as blunted elbows had hosted several dj nights at the alibi in the spring of '05 that went well, both with the music and the draw.

Trash and Roll + Dave Gleason's Wasted Days at The Alibi

dave gleason's wasted days were awesome.  wish the turnout would have been better because people missed out.  a three piece for this show, and all super nice guys.  i remember asking if they wanted any effects on the vocals and dave replying something like "keep it dry and put the eq straight across" cutting a horizontal line through the air with his hand.  makes my job as a sound guy easy, something i always appreciate.  and you know what, they didn't need any effects or a bunch of adjusting of the eq.  the motherfucker could sing, like really sing.  (to quote dameon lee of lowlights "no ian, i don't need any effects on my vocals.  i know how to sing.")  so could the back up guy.  they sounded great in the alibi.  dave had some crazy vintage guitar with an awesome tone.  they rocked it for an hour, starting with some more tradtional country, both original and covers, stuff like hank williams and buck owens.  as the set went on they got more into the country rock stuff, once again with mostly original material, but not afraid to tackle some covers from their favorite artists.  and these guys weren't just about the music, they were livin' it.  they all looked like they stepped right off of a flying burrito brothers album cover or like they took their fashion tips from billy in easy rider, all fringe jackets, cowboy boots, droopy mustaches, long hair, and cowboy hats.  they had a great time and loved the alibi.  we talked at length about getting them back up to arcata.  they said they normally played for 3+ hours.  i had just had the successful juanita family show at the milk barn and talked to dave about having them play there.  they loved the idea.  well, the milk barn got shut down a short while later.  i exhchanged numerous emails with dave's booking agent.  we threw some dates back and forth, but nothing worked out, band members having babies, or leaving town for extended periods.  i think i finally just left things at 'get in touch when the band's ready to come up again' but never heard back.
hadn't seen trash and roll in awhile.  this night freel was joined by jon pyle on guitar, pete ciotti on drums, and i believe gary silver, a t'n'r alumnus, on bass.  although they had the familiar t'n'r songs, many of which i recognized off of the first record, they had a much different sound.  everyone's intstruments were distorted, fuzzed out, and effects peddalled to the limit.  freel wanted maximum reverb on his vocals.  the result was.....confusing.  familiar songs, and unfamiliar sound.  and at the alibi bands can either sound great, or really bad.  and when you have that much distortion and reverb going on in that little corner, the result is usually the latter.  the set probably would have sounded a lot better in a larger venue, on a stage, with a larger sound system.

Juanita Family and Friends + The Runaway Trucktramps at The Milk Barn

now this show was fucking awesome.  always love having the juanitas, the milk barn was a perfect setting for this show.  amazed at how many people turned up for the show, like regular show-going types, not the usual deadbeat losers who come to house shows because they think they can get in for free, watch good music, drink their $4 microbrew double deuce, and then dip into everyone else's beers.  on the contrary, everyone who showed was more than willing to pay knowing that $3 for this show was a deal.  bring your booze, a bonfire out back, what a fun fucking time.  the trucktramps got things going and no one hesitated to start dancing.  the juanitas showed up in during the trucktramps set.  this time around it was lana, dylan, curley, jeremy, and chris coyle on drums.  the juanitas have a rabid following in arcata and the dancing didn't stop the entire time they played.  fun, fun, fun, fun!  everyone got drunk and the bands got paid.  shit yeah.

Spider+the Webs + The Old Haunts at The Alibi

the big draw here was that tobi vail is in spider and the webs and the old haunts had a new record out on kill rock stars.  never been a big fan of krs, and this show didn't change my mind.  way too much high end for my taste and the music just really didn't do much for me.  i was a little too drunk as well, so i ended up just being kinda bored.  the band members were nice enough, but a little weird and standoffish (got a little too stoned before the show?).  why is that the more arty, indie, hipster type bands tend to live up to their stereotype (at least the one i have of them) and be a little weird and aloof and lacking in social skills, while the rock and metal bands are almost always super friendly, down to earth, and fun?  highlight of the show was the dude from two ton boa who 'sat in' with spider and the webs, wearing a long hair wig with hippie headband, john lennon sunglasses, and serape.  he sat in a chair for most of the performance and would occasionally stand up in the middle of a song and start playing the tambourine.  fucking hilarious.  so, even though i wasn't into the show, the people who came out for it were, so that's cool.  wouldn't bend over backwards to book either of these bands again.

Helios Creed + JETOMI at The Alibi

let's see if i can ever get caught up on these, my memories of a lot of these shows are faded, yet an obsessive streak in me prevents me from writing about the more recent shows and keeps me tied to doing them in order.  jetomi were awesome, loud, downtuned stoner metal.  super nice guys.  the show got started late.  the h.c. crew was way bigger than anticipated and showed up in shifts, the last bunch showing up quite late.  the alibi cook quit.  the crazy bartender was freaking out, nothing much new there.  but everyone in the h.c. camp was cool.  turnout wasn't nearly what i hoped for, the people who were there were hardcore chrome / h.c. fans.  they played a cool set with computer generated pyschedelic patterns projected over the band while they played.  damon edge's wife was on tour with them and sang a couple of songs, including 'all tommorrow's parties' which could've been cheesy, but was actually really cool.  the crowd was way into it, and helios was ready to keep playing, but we were out of time.  they all said they had a great time.  hope to have both bands back sometime.

The Glossines + The Monster Women at The Alibi

so, to anyone reading these, i understand they aren't the most interesting show reviews.  i've got a lot of catching up to do, and i don't want to skip any shows.  i at least want to have an archive of past shows to look back on, even if there's not much of a description of the shows.
so, the story from mike d. was that the glossines were getting ready to break up and wanted to come up for one last show in arcata with the ravens.  the ravens backed out shortly before the show, as the band wasn't feeling confident enough with new guitarist brian woida.  the monster women filled in on short notice and played another great set of b-movie new wave.   the place was packed and the glossines are crowd pleasers.  fun night, good music, some money for the bands, some money for the bar.

Lozen and Qui at The Alibi

this was the third, and finally successful, attempt to book qui at the alibi.  qui is matt and paul from thee l.a. gentlemen callers two-piece sludge metal band.  they were on tour with lozen, two girls from tacoma who rock hard.  turnout wasn't great.  both bands were loud and heavy.  the people who were there were really stoked on lozen and as soon as their set ended asked me when they'd be returning.

Hillstreet Stranglers The Real DT's at The Alibi

punk, punk, punk, punk, punk, punk, and more punk.  fun had by all.  hillstreet stranglers from san diego.  the real dt's from san fortuna.

The Monster Women + The Invasions at The Alibi

both bands seemed happy to be playing with one another and both played good sets.  a good night of local music.