DC ROCK CLUB
Long live rock, I need it every night

Monday, January 07, 2008

Thorkelsons pt 2

And now for the much-awaited part two of our 2007 awards show/banquet/fundraiser for retarded children.

Category: Live Shows

1. Best in Show

Which band brought the ruckus?

Sacklunch:

(1) The Thermals, 03/02/07, Black Cat
(2) Menomena, 11/20/07, Black Cat
(3) Dismemberment Plan, 04/27/07, Black Cat

Potsy:

(1) The Long Blondes, 06/07/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. This show did it all. Hot young female rockers. I got a low five from Kate Jackson (not the Charlie's Angel) as she exited the stage.
(2) The Thermals, 03/02/07, Black Cat. As their name implies, they're very warm.
(3) Menomena, 11/20/07, The Black Cat. Would be the first band I'd invite to the future DCRC HQ.

Jumbo Slice:

(1) Dismemberment Plan, 04/28/07, Black Cat. Technically this wasn't an "official" Rock Club show but I'm including it because it was hands-down the best show I saw all year. Nothing else comes close.
(2) LCD Soundsystem, 05/16/07, 9:30
(3) Spoon, 10/23/07, 9:30

Jimbromski:

(1) LCD Soundsystem, 05/16/07, 9:30. It's an LCD sweep--best album, best song, and best show. James Murphy had a sore throat and ended the show early, and somehow that made it even better, like being able to watch Picasso paint for a half hour, or John Holmes get fellated for five minutes. Genius at work.

John Holmes: the original Long Blonde

(2) Spoon, 10/23/07, 9:30. Something about all the hoops we had to jump through to attend this show made it feel special. Plus they came back out for a few more songs, after the lights had gone on and the PA started playing George Harrison songs. Never seen that before.
(3) The Thermals, 03/02/07, Black Cat.

2. Worst in Show

Sacklunch:

(1) Dick Swift, 04/19/07, Black Cat. Snoooze.
(2) Illinois, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel.
(3) Yoko Ono, 07/14/07, Pitchfork Music Festival. By far the worst. Drove the crowd out en masse.

Potsy:

(1) The Ponys, 03/24/07 (Black Cat), 07/23/07 (Black Cat), 10/23/07 (9:30). I hoped this band would break up, but then I realized they could form four equally annoying bands. Best to utilize the containment strategy.
(2) Travis Morrison and the Hellfighters, 09/13/07, Iota. I waited in line for the can with Travis at this show. I should never stand in the bathroom line with the headliner. Although I wonder what would have happened if I saw David Lee Roth in the bathroom of the Verizon Center at the Van Halen show. Would he have intervened in the bathroom sex that I overheard?
(3) Dick Swift, 04/19/07, Black Cat. I walked out in the middle. Like sand in your bathing suit. Irritating.

Jumbo Slice:

(1) Dick Swift, 04/19/07, Black Cat.
(2) Smashing Pumpkins, 07/13/07, 9:30. I actually rated this one worse than Swift but I'll admit the music was better. I just deducted points because of Corgan's ego.
(3) The Loved Ones (with Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer), 01/18/07, Black Cat. I don't care for either of these bands. At all.


Jimbromski:

(1) Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, 06/02/07, 9:30. Oh how the mighty have fallen. BRMC are the inverse to LCD Soundsystem--shit album, shit show. This show was 4-5 hours too long, and there were too many fucking meathead types in the audience, and finally, on the walk home we saw some guy beating up a chick, and no, none of us intervened. Bad vibes all night.
(2) Illinois, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. Hey, I'll pay you $20 to stop fucking speaking between songs. Not enough? How about I pull your tongue out and replace it with a Maxi Pad? Is that better? It certainly works for me.
(3) Dick Swift, 04/19/07, Black Cat. I hate to pile on this guy but this dick was flaccid. Like a male version of Rickie Lee Jones. Find another line of work, sir. You made my soul hurt.

3. Nicest Surprise

Sacklunch:

(1) The Long Blondes, 06/07/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. No doubt. I went into this show with low expectations. They blew me away.

Potsy:

(1) The Rosebuds, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. The Rosebuds were good, and let's not forget about the Bowerbirds.

Jumbo Slice:

(1) The Long Blondes, 06/07/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. I figured they'd put on a decent show, but I had no idea they'd be that good.

Jimbromski:

(1) The Rosebuds, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. Washed the bad taste of Illinois out of my mouth.
(2) Illinois, 11/20/07, Black Cat. I hated these guys so much at RNRH that I was surpised how good they could be when the lead singer tones it down even a little bit.
(3) Ted Leo, 12/18/07, 9:30. See Illinois. When Leo shuts up and just plays the rock, he's one of the best around. This was a great show.

4. Most Unpleasant Surprise

Sacklunch:

(1) Heartless Bastards, 06/13/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. Not that it was a bad show, but I was very underwhelmed by this band. I had high hopes for this show, the albums are quite good.

Potsy:

Tie--(1) Illinois, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel, and (2) Heartless Bastards, 06/13/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. A draw between Illinois for ruining a solid record with a sophomoric stage presence and the Heartless Bastards for not delivering the rock with any...heart.

Jumbo Slice:

(1) Illinois, 05/22/07, Rock and Roll Hotel

Jimbromski:

(1) The Long Blondes, 06/07/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. I missed this show, so I was unpleasantly surprised by how awesome it was. I had to meet my parents for dinner at Outback. The TV over the bar played the Raiders/Patriots "Tuck Rule" game on ESPN Classic. I am a Raiders fan. This is as unpleasant as it gets.
(2) Heartless Bastards, 06/13/07, Rock and Roll Hotel. Would you rather be somewhere else, Heartless Bastards? Yeah, me too. And clean yourself up before you go on stage. Brush your hair and put some makeup on. I'll forgive a lackluster performance if you're hot.

5. Best Review
Sacklunch:

(1) Potsy's review of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club at the 9:30.
Honorable Mention: Jumbo Slice's Review as Haiku for LCD Soundsystem.

Potsy:

(1) Jumbo Slice's review of The Thermals' second show at the Black Cat. Allow myself to quote myself: "your reviews are best when you don't show up."

Jumbo Slice:

(1) Potsy's review of Van Halen

Jimbromski:

(1) Jumbo Slice, Review as Haiku, LCD Soundsystem. Only the spare, haunting, Japanese metered poesy could do justice to the greatness of that show.
(2) Potsy, Van Halen. Bathroom sex, vomit, Diamond Dave. Really, it wrote itself, but Potsy still gets the credit.

6. Worst Review
Sacklunch:

(1) My review of The Veils. Even though it was not an official RC review, it was boring and insipid.

Potsy:

(1) DAM!, I Forgot What Happened, Sacklunch. Sacklunch, you've shown you're capable of writing, but not here. More like Sucklunch.

Jumbo Slice:

(1) My interview/review of Jukebox the Ghost.

Jimbromski:

(1) DAM!, I Forgot What Happened, Sacklunch. Three weeks late, no detail on any of the bands you saw, all with the usual jumble of misspellings, grammatical errors, and complete lack of pictures, audio or video. Sometimes I wonder what you're contributing to this whole operation, Mr. Sack. For shame.

3 comments:

Potsy said...

I gave Jumbo Slice a "Most Creative" nod for his Haiku review, but it didn't make it to this list. A great surprise, and well executed. Man, he loves that Asian lifestyle.


Also, I did linger during the bitch-slap while you three hurried across the street where you encountered the drunk girl who ate it at your feet on the sidewalk. I was ready to intervene, punk. I had a hammer and nail at the ready.

Jimbromski said...

Please, you weren't gonna do shit.

Never intervene in a pimp/ho dispute, which is a variant of a domestic dispute.

Anonymous said...

As a domestic violence crisis volunteer, I have to say for shame, for shame.

I saw Spoon! Well, I heard them from my balcony because they played a block from my house. And their picture was in the paper. That's as close as I get.

I vow to do better with my live music in 2008. I have about 300 live music venues within 20 blocks of my house, so it is a bit of a waste.