930 club 11/27 & 11/28

[diesel]

11/27/06
9:30 club, dc

first panda > soft machine
even rats
airplane/primitive
?
dec kids


not a bad set. the most notable thing was the band came out wearing hats that looked like animals, and andrew was also wearing a tiger costume.

the ? was a new song to me. brad was on acoustic, and marc had his new red bass. i actually liked it.

dec kids was a little challenging b/c brad broke a string in the intro, had to change guitars while andrew kept the beat, and then he accidentally unplugged his guitar later during the song. i then walked to the bar.

mmj was stellar.

[JEFFfromNC]

Wow, man I almost made the trip up for these shows. Glad I didn't drive 6+ hours for that short set. MMJ might have made the trip worth it. Hopefully you'll get something amazing tonight.

[tim]

? was "let there be horses".

funniest thing i heard all night came during the opening notes of even rats. some kids next to me goes "whoa man, wait a second, this is the guitar hero song! i can't believe ythis is actually a real song!!"

whoa man indeed...

[ScS]

if there was a line about god and the devil making a deal...it was "let there be horses".

[Dan]

see radish on myspace

[Phrazz]

MMJ might have made the trip worth it. Hopefully you'll get something amazing tonight.

Jeff, that is the understatement of the quarter! MMJ is worth at least a seven hour drive. They are beyond "highly recommended". I don't even care if you like them (even if you don't, the lights alone will blow your mind). MMJs performance was so over the top that it doesn't even make sense to try to describe the raw energy and finesse they exude. I drank the kool aid again, and I'm beginning to enjoy the flavor. There were even some funny interludes and Jim James thanking the audience for getting all sweaty together dancing up a storm (which was hard to do in the packed club).

You could tell who had heard of The Slip before by the faces and foot tapping. Dec Kids went over big, but seems like several strings kept breaking and some sound trouble detracted from the short BAM set. Since they have the kinks worked out (also trickier with a short sound check, kudos to new sound man Drew), tonight will be legendary.

Also of worthy note is the entire uppper echelon of Jambase, who made the trek all the way from San Francisco, and Nathan Moore (along with Amy!). Sorry, he didn't sing. There are some other notes I'd like to share, but a few others haven't yet signed all the release forms. [*jk*]

More notes on how to take photos--but I'll learn more about this for real tonight. Maybe some video for you YouTubians. Hopefully BAM wears those crazy animal hats again so I can take some photos with my real camera (film at 11).

-Kick it into overdrive,

Phrazz

P.S.: earplugs within 75 feet of the mains are absolutely necessary. I clocked some SPLs way over 130dB. However, the clarity of the EAWs was outstanding, and rarely was the system ever taxed beyond the breaking point (though the supporting scaffolding had some rattles on the bass drum kick...hard to notice if you weren't right on the cabs).

[tim]

11/28/2006

even rats
airplane primitive
children of december
the shouters
baba o'reilly

i'm stuck at work but i just got a call from diesel. apparently shouters was awesome and he enjoyed tonight's set more than last night.

[diesel]

last nights set was much better than the previous. they rolled on stage around 8:30, took a brief look around the audience, which wasnt as packed as mondays at that point and went right into even rats. very smooth and precise set overall. the sound was much better and cleaner without any noticeable glitches. airplane was very good and started to thaw out some of the stone faced sticks in the mud that 9:30 club apparently attracted these two days. dec kids was very lean, no extended intro or outro, just rockin. after that point, i assumed they had 2 songs left and i was eagerly waiting for a surprise. i got it. shouters started with couple of strokes from brad. in one hand he held the mic and the other held the chords, no strumming. after this song, i started hearing some phrases like 'who are these guys, theyre good!' and for the finale, marc pulled out the rattle and started the baba o'reilly intro. i was happy.

overall this set just blew mondays away. nicely done guys.


the mmj set had a little different feel to it tonight. they came out hard with one big holiday but it didnt feel as if it had the same high octane pace that it had on monday. they played a couple of older tunes that im not too familiar with in the set. the encore was excellent, featuring golden, steam engine, mahgeeta and anytime.

my heads pounding still and my voice is raspy, both symptoms of a great 2 day run.

sidenote - i wore foam earplugs last night for the first time for a few songs during the mmj set, and even though my ears are thankful, i think that they slightly detracted from the show. if anyone can recommend any quality plugs that dont dampen the music, im all ears.

[coverslip]

I have these

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

they're really comfortable and don't muffle the sound.

[putty]

at the 40 watt in athens, they sell ear plugs for a quarter in candy dispensers. they're a necessity at that place, especially for the Drive By Truckers or the like.

they definitely muffle the sound, but you get used to it as the night goes on, and your ears thank you in the morning.

[diesel]

I have these

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

they're really comfortable and don't muffle the sound.

yeah, ive heard these are good from other people. i just bought a pair for $12 shipped:

amazon link


my right ear has a little dull ache from standing 10 ft from the right stacks both nights.

[hoby]

I have these

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er20.aspx

they're really comfortable and don't muffle the sound.

Good for you for taking steps to protect your hearing. I'm always amazed by people who rave about how important music is in their lives and then engage in behavior that guarantees that they won't be able to enjoy it later on in life. I know that phenomenon well because I was one of those people and I'm paying the price as I get older. So good for you, I say.

Anyway, I used those etymotics for a number of years. They're pretty comfortable and do a pretty good job of protection, but after a while I found they weren't enough for me. I'm suffering from a classic symptom of aural abuse: my ears are VERY sensitive to loud sounds now.

What I use now are these:

http://www.westone.com/earmold_styles.html#protect

I have a pair of Style #49 for critical musical situations. Their attenuation is very flat (all frequencies cut equally = no muffled feeling.) You can get different sets of filters for them depending on how much protection you want. I've got filters that cut by 15 and 25 dB. These days I almost always use the 25's.

For situations that are stupidly loud, I use the Style 40. Their attenuation is anything but flat, but my ears never ring if I use them.

Both these sets are quite a bit more expensive than foam or the etymotics and you need to get impressions taken of your ears by an audiologist, but to me it is VERY worth the price and the extra hassle.

Like I said, my ears are very sensitive, so I'm fighting to save what I've got left.

If anyone wants more info on my experience with the Westones, I'll be glad to share, but I'll stop here for now.

hoby

[Cleantone]

My Westone's are missing. Molded to my ears and had my buisness card in the pouch. Reward offer and explanation that they are for my ears only and nobody contacted me with them. Sucks.

[hoby]

My Westone's are missing. Molded to my ears and had my buisness card in the pouch. Reward offer and explanation that they are for my ears only and nobody contacted me with them. Sucks.

Oh man, Clean, that totally sucks.

My condolences.

hoby

[lumpy]

not the fullest sound, but you can stream the first night of 9:30 here