New digs here is Charleston, SC and last night was my first night checking out some live music in this slightly-better-than-Greenville city I now call home.
First show as a resident: Parts & Labor at the Village Tavern in Mt Pleasant.
The lady and I arrived at 9:45 for a supposed 10PM show. No opener was listed, so the band did not start until 11 PM on the nickel. We ducked the $8 cover charge for being diligent and arriving early (sorry to the band members, but I did buy a CD from you).
The guys in the band, Dan, BJ, and Christopher were incredibly nice, even though they looked extremely unapproachable. It was a crowd of maybe 20-25 people, so I wandered over and chatted with them for a bit.
Dan, on guitar, keyboards, and vocals, explained that they had just come from playing Birmingham, AL and that this was their "get in, get out" tour of the Southeast. They are hopefully on their way home safely after a show at the Local 506 in Chapel Hill, NC.
Dan also informed me that they had "heard good things about (the Village Tavern)." I was a bit puzzled by his comment since it was a skeletal group of fans, but they all seemed genuinely...uh...pleased to be there. After informing Dan and BJ that I downloaded their album on a whim from emusic, BJ said, "oh, so you're that one guy...our label told us about you." I think it was a compliment.
We talked a bit about their label, Jagjaguwar, I bought their excellent previous release, Stay Afraid, and then they all jumped onstage for an onslaught of post-punk, grinding keyboard, Husker Du-tempoed destruction. I was loud. So loud. I do not lie when I say a couple in their mid-30s got up and walked out with their jaws hung open in disbelief.
I don't know if they were finished when they walked off the stage (this would have made sense given Dan's "get in, get out" comment earlier), but I didn't stick around for the 2nd set (if there was one). I'm reminded of a quote by Joe Strummer about The Ramones that goes something like, "they came onstage, played for exactly 30 minutes, and no one could have taken a 31st
minute." Oh yes, they were loud. Beautifully loud.
The setlist:
A Great Divide
New Buildings
Camera Shy
New Crimes
Fake Rain
? (King of the Hill, I think)
The Gold We're Digging
Fractured Skies
On an end note, as a drummer, I will say that Christopher Weingarten is a crazily skilled drummer. It didn't hurt that he was wearing a Minutemen t-shirt either.
No pics this time around. Forgot the f'ing camera. I'll do better next time, I swear.
