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Shimmer Kids Underpop Association, Mushroom, Charmless, Jim Yoshi Pile Up, Zach Rogue, Spider Compass Good Crime Band Toxic Beach August 24, 2003 Review by Jake Thomas Some might say that I’m biased in this review since I help organize this little shindig; to them, I say ‘hogwash’! Since I don’t play in any of the bands, and stand nothing to gain by lying or embellishing for or about them, I see no conflict. That said it was a fine, long day at Warm Water Cove (a.k.a. Toxic Beach). Almost too fine really, as the sun was beating down in that ay that only happens here in SF a handful of times out of the year. All of the showgoers were scattered to the few shady spots, leaving the crowd pretty spread out for most of the show but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves nonetheless. There was a grill for cooking goodies, many coolers full of beer and pop, and crazy people everywhere for entertainment. These crazy people included: • a bunch of biker/druggie types, there for a wake for a friend of theirs who was stabbed by his speed-dealing girlfriend; • crazy-shaker-stick-man, this fella who staggered around with this weird stick that looked like a bed post, adorned with lots of random crap. He danced for pretty much the entire duration of the show. • the fishermen, a whole crew of them fishing in the bay and periodically checking out what was going on. They had a kid with them who would randomly push a baby stroller around (no baby in it mind you, and he was at least 12 years old). • the homeless folk who live there, they were pretty happy to take our old bottles and cans off of us. • and finally, Frank Chu, who was actually invited by some folks there and gave a little speech at one point during the show that made no sense. But then again, when does Frank Chu ever make sense. The best part about it all is that all of these people were plenty nice and everyone got along in our little one day version of utopia. The mix of different cultures really added to the overall vibe of the event, and I think it even helped. But this is supposed to be a music review right? So here is the low down on the bands who played… Jim Yoshi Pile Up was first. Unfortunately, this also meant that they served as the guinea pigs for testing out the sound system, or more importantly, the output levels of the generator. The first couple of songs were plagued by the power cutting out numerous of times. It finally got sorted out, and they were able to finish out their set in grand fashion. Their last couple of songs might have been my favorite thing I heard the entire day, and even though I’ve known of them for ages, I find JYPU growing on me like a virus lately. But the good kind of virus, not the kind you try to fight with a topical crème. Playing a short set between JYPU and the next band was the Spider Compass Good Crime Band. This was Andrew from the Slow Poisoners plus another fella, playing skronky, noisy improve keyboard nonsense while wearing giant, monsterous looking animal-ish heads. In this heat, that alone was no small feat. But they were awesome! It was the sort of thing that would get old after a while, but for the short bit that they played it was near perfect. Seeing those telescoping mask/heads bobbing around while they played their demented circus music was a funny, funny sight that I hope to see again, but I can’t imagine it ever getting any better than this. My crystal ball says that these guys opening for Experimental Dental School would be a match made in heaven. Charmless were the second main band, and they were just as good as I remember them being when I saw them last a year or more ago. I’d been wanting to see them again for quite some time and it never seemed to work out, so I figured the best way to finally make this happen would be to just have them play a show I was helping organize. For those who don’t know, they play a brand of pop-punk that reminds me a lot of classic North Carolina stuff like the Archers of Loaf or Superchunk, but most importantly like the extremely underrated Small (or Small 23, depending on which album you might be looking at). They have an EP that they’ve released fairly recently that I was really wanting to get, but I didn’t see them selling anything. Oh well, next time around I suppose…and there will be a next time most certainly. After a short break, Mushroom played. I really didn’t know much of anything about these guys other than that they were ‘improv’. They don’t have any songs really, one guy will just start off a song and they’ll all join in eventually - a sure sign of a group of talented musicians if nothing else. I didn’t love all they did, some of it sounded a bit too ‘lite-jazz’ for me. But there was a couple of songs (bear in mind, they are long songs, so they only played about 5 songs for their entire set) that reminded me of some of the better Chicago instrumental stuff like Tortoise and Directions in Music. The final song was particularly good, although the only real identifying mark I could give on it was the dominating guitar riff that started the whole thing out. But perhaps the best part of their set was not music related at all, but rather when one of the fishermen caught a large fish (a halibut I believe? I thought it was a flounder, but I’m by no means a fish expert), and walked up behind the band raised the fish in the air, and yelled ‘yeah!’, which cause the audience to cheer and clap for the guy. A t this point we had another short inbetween act, this time it was Zach from Rogue Wave playing a solo acoustic set. Well, not really solo, as Rogue Wave drummer Pat also sat in with him and sang back up harmonies and played the shaker and tambourine. He played a great mix of older material from the album and new stuff as well. I can’t say enough good things about Rogue Wave, they’ve easily put out my favorite local record of the year. I’m constantly hyping them up to my friends, and now to you – go see this band! They’re playing out a lot lately, and if you like catchy pop music, you’d be remiss to miss this wonderful act. The final band of the day was the Shimmer Kids Underpop Association, a group of local popsters who have been around for quite a while now. And when I say group, what I mean is small army – there are 8 shimmer kids in total, playing a range of instruments from the normal band fare of guitar, drums, bass, but also trumpet, sax, theremin, and a whole box full of shakers and noise makers. This show was to be the final with their current drummer, so I’m glad I finally got to see them after meaning to for quite some time. They always seem to get comparisons to the Elephant 6 camp, and I can see that; but they also have a slight country tinge to them, in a Byrds sorta way. Lots of harmonies, great horns, and catchy tunes made for a great finale for this grand day. --- Read our previous Rogue Wave reviews: August 15, 2003 @ Café Du Nord February 4, 2003 @ Make-Out Room ©2003 playinginfog.com |