Bumps in the road fail to slow enthusiasm of Miracles of God
By MARY T. NGUYEN of the Tribune's staff
In addition to two 7-inch records, two CDs, press notes and photos, the Miracles of God media kit to the Tribune included the following items:
¡ü Preserved tomatoes and garlic made by Grace Sinclair, wife of guitarist and singer Sam Locke Ward.
¡ü Two band pins, one of which was made from a Miller HighLife bottle cap.
¡ü A maroon hand towel, which was wrapped around the jar of tomatoes and stuffed into a resealable plastic sandwich bag.
¡ü A cigarette, brand unknown but still in good condition.
It would be nice to think the special delivery was personally sent because of the incredible power the writer has to promote the band, but more likely the truth is it has more to do with the band's close relationship to Columbia's music scene, players and writers alike. And it's easy to believe that the band would send all of this because each band member exudes a wholesome, generous sense of community that the band promotes in its hometown of Iowa City and found here as well.
"I love coming to Columbia," bassist Clayton Schuneman, 24, said. "I like the fact that it's full of nice people. It's a good scene with a decent draw of people who appreciate local music. And the music is diverse; it's rock and roll, but different styles of rock and roll."
It was a good friend rather than divine intervention that introduced the Miracles, which include guitarist Jason Hennesy, 33, and drummer Brian Boelman, 27, to Columbia. The band's first Columbia appearance was in January 2005 at a house show set up by Locke Ward's longtime friend and former bandmate Robin Stricklin of the Leah Quinnelle All-Stars Featuring Happy.
Their set was canceled, however, after the band's van broke down downtown on the way to the show and resulted in an accident that sent Locke Ward and Schuneman to the emergency room.
As Locke Ward and Schuneman were pushing their van to the side of the road heading south on College Avenue just past Broadway, a drunken driver struck them at full speed from behind and pinned Locke Ward between the two vehicles.
The collision broke one of Locke Ward's legs and ripped the flesh from the other. He spent five weeks in the intensive care unit in a Columbia hospital before he could return home to Iowa City. Schuneman managed to jump out from between the cars but was treated for a broken knee, which was later diagnosed as a torn tendon.
The incident happened on the third day of their tour and cut the band's traveling plans short.
"In the emergency room, I came to and insisted I was going to finish the tour," Locke Ward, 24, said. "When I did that, the doctors thought I had brain damage, but my friends had to assure them that's just how I roll. I try not to give up over just anything."
Doctors told Locke Ward that it would be a year before he would be able to walk, but in true punk rock nature, he and the Miracles were talking about going back on tour by the following August, when Locke Ward was able to get around using a cane.
"I wouldn't have recovered as fast or as hopeful or excited if I didn't have things to look forward to," he said. "And this band is what I've always looked forward to."
With compensation from the accident, Locke Ward was able to extend his musical interests by starting his own label, Hot Potato Records, to further contribute to Iowa City's music scene, which, much like Columbia's, relies on the aid of local talent to help promote other local talent.
"We just got to the point where we're erasing any evidence of an accident from our Web site or our press kit," Locke Ward said. "We're just back to where we were" - a place where they were producing what Locke Ward describes as " '60s Wall of Sound, like the Beach Boys, but only punk rock."
The band members seem to harbor no ill will about the accident, especially not toward Columbia. Since the accident, they've played three shows in town and shared bills with Columbia bands, such as MegaZilla, Bald Eagle and Warhammer 48k, elsewhere. In June, the band also went out with Witch's Hat for a three-week extended Midwest tour. Playing in Columbia, they say, is a tribute to its supportive and extensive music community.
"Columbia's treated the Miracles as good and as bad as a town could treat the Miracles," Locke Ward said. "I love playing there. I love the downtown. I love Apop Records."
Violent Femmes jam for all ages
When the doors opened, the line of people bent around the corner, curled along the sidewall that flaunted graffiti and through an alley until it reached the adjacent street.
What made the line interesting to observe was not the path or form it had assumed but because it was peppered with people of every generation and social persuasion.
The Violent Femmes have been around for a long time, and everyone, young and old, attended this show. Despite the fact that the masses of people who had once occupied that line were now moving inside, it was cold and not a suitable place to wear a T-shirt, as I soon realized. The cigarettes that inevitably lit up like broken Christmas tree lights flared up every now and again, showing faces behind them in the stimulating yellow glow, but they didn't do much for warmth.
Before the opening band, Miracles of God, there was no lack of entertainment. The stereotypical "that guy" held one bottle of beer, one cup of beer and one pitcher of beer, which, by my count, was filled up four or five times during the course of the evening and probably spilled just as often.
The stage itself held a gong, stacks of electronics and a rack of guitars among other basic music equipment and gradually accumulated more as the opening band came out to tune.
Miracles of God did not provide much to look at when it came to the front of the stage. The quartet didn't appear to be the type of band that would tour with the Femmes, but that impression changed once the lead singer's mouth opened.
On just about all of the songs the band played, there was a harmony between two or among all three of the vocalists. Although the band didn't say much, it had an incredible stage presence and was a genuinely rocking band. The raw whining voice of the lead vocalist complemented by the very heavy rock sound quickly excited the crowd.
The band got the crowd so riled up that a mosh pit formed a couple of times, and The Blue Note's bouncer charged in to stop it. Later, Greg Linde from the Columbia band Witch's Hat was invited to the stage and provided vocals and a steady tambourine beat.
At exactly 10:15 p.m., the Femmes took the stage.
The set began with the crash of the gong that stood unused until this point in the show, and the instrument's vibrations set off a wave of infectious energy that rushed through the audience.
The Femmes began the first song, "Hey Nonny Nonny," with a brief jam, bringing all those waiting to play in the show onto the stage, making so much sound that it was altogether incredible.
The band played every crowd favorite that they could, along with a couple of lesser-known songs (something noticeable based on how much singing came from the crowd). But regardless of the song, each was saturated with an incredible energy — in part because it was live, in part because the band was so into its music.
On "Mirror Mirror (I See a Damsel)," from the album New Times, the tempo of the song gradually picked up and made the audience crazy. But a mandolin solo that followed the basic line made the show different.
"Black Girls" set an atmosphere of a jam session throughout the song, as improvisations followed the regular tune and eventually culminated in what seemed to be an improvised drum battle.
Throughout the show, Brian Ritchie, the band's bassist, threw a number of picks into the audience, eliciting a response from the audience similar to that of swarming piranha.
The Violent Femmes put on an incredible show, and it sure as hell showed at their Saturday performance.
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