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Bottom of the Hill March 29, 2001 Review by Squid God Damnit, why do we all forget what a fantastic band Three Day Stubble is? Is it because they've been around for so long that we take them for granted? We can only assume this is the case. Putting aside for just a moment their fabulous sense of style, who else comes close to their maelstrom of Freakrock? What other lead singer ends each song with a sexy, nasal "Thank Ewwwwwwwwwww..."? No one, that's who! These heroes of nerdcore have been spitting out artrock gems longer than most of us care to remember. (Who was at that Thinking Fellers/Three Day Stubble/Caroliner Rainbow show ten years ago at the Great American? Ooh, you're as old as we are..) They are geniuses. Case closed. Daz was very excited to see the well-monikered Toychestra. This ensemble is three ironing boards, six women, and several hundred plastic toys miked with the power of what we speculate to be a shitload of AA batteries. Know what the scary part is? It works. With the exception of some mystery feedback, we were treated to a series of sweet, well-performed cacophanies. A beautiful moment of irony took place with the realization that Hisashi Sasaki, the bass player from The Ruins, was standing right behind us in the audience. With a smile on his face. Nodding in appreciation. Godlike virtuosity and unabashed playfulness, all in one immediate soundspace! Damn. And Monopause. Where do we begin? This isn't a band so much as a performance ensemble. During the straight ahead musical numbers, they reminded Squid of Split Enz sans costumes with their clever stage presence. The lead singer in particular, honest-to-god, was just like Tim Finn with a savvy mike-in-hand vocal delivery. The true masterpiece, however, was their finale: a dramatic interpretation of an alien abduction, complete with synchronized movements to taped background effects. At least that's what we think we saw. Not sure. Everyone in the city should see them at least once. |