All Drunk and Bored
Apologies to All We Seabees: I missed your set because I couldn't stand up.
by Wesley Lewis
June and July are traditionally bad months for shows in Murfreesboro. As anyone who's lived here knows, we experience a huge drought in show attendance during the summer—it comes with living in a college town. Surprisingly, that wasn't the case this last month, as suddenly there was something to do every few nights. But it wasn't like anybody wanted to show up.
Wall Street on June 20 was pretty rad, if only because Joey Kneiser of Glossary played a brilliant solo set. I think he was a last-minute replacement for locals The Lavamen. Fort Wayne's own Orange Opera played a rocking set of '70s-inspired tunes that made me think of Zach Galifianakis fronting Bad Company, and headliners Cuttlefish strutted their Southern-fried grunge jams. I wasn't aware of this at the time, but it would be the 'Fish's last show for a while, as drummer Eric Giles is on tour with Glossary.
The 21st was a rare experience in the 'Boro these days—a multiple-show night! Not only that, but I actually enjoyed bands at both shows. First on the agenda were Kelly Kerr and the Distractions and Chris Freeman and the Unicorn Horns at pizza joint/all-ages venue Tomato Tomato. Chris Freeman & Co. played their usually comforting set of geeky and awesome songs. Kerr's band offered a batch of Pavement-y flavored songs—definitely good stuff. To cap off that show, in some kind of awesome Voltron moment, both bands combined to do a phenomenal cover of Neil Young's "Rocking in the Free World." Believe it.
Next, I tried to hoof it to House House to catch headliners Chubby Behemoth. I didn't make it on time, so I missed them and locals Witch Detectives. I did get to see Most Amazing Century of Science, though. Either I was in a better mood or they just didn't start/stop as much as they did last time, but it was a great performance. They just released a pretty sweet little limited-edition EP too. It's self-titled, clocks in around 10 minutes and runs the gamut from spy music to grind-freakout. It's good—get it while you still can.
The last show at House House for almost a month happened on the 25th. Massive-Dinner played an awesome, albeit short, set of pot-laced freak-out rock, while Brooklyn's La Otracina gave us a dose of some LOUD stoner metal. The guitar player had the largest pedal board I have ever seen and used it with mad skill. Lazerslut were supposed to play but refused in protest due to patrons' disrespect for the property. Don't people realize that glass breaks when you kick it? Dumbasses.
A few nights later on the 27th, it was back to Wall Street again—this time for Chattanoogans The Bohannons and locals Velcro Stars and All We Seabees. The Bohnannons opened with a set of Southern jammy stuff that I really enjoyed—likely tightened up by the U.K. tour they just finished with the Black Diamond Heavies. Velcro Stars rocked it, testing out new stuff for their next album. The highlight of their set was Shane Spresser singing in falsetto for their newest hit, "Gonna Get Some Strange Tonight." They are currently working on the follow-up to their stellar debut Hiroshima's Revenge. Apologies to All We Seabees: I missed your set because I couldn't stand up.
I really had no idea that I went to Wall Street as much as I did over the last month. On July 3, Ascent of Everest, Bostonians Irepress and Evil Bebos blew some eardrums. Ascent of Everest, who I hadn't seen in a couple of years, absolutely peeled face. Yes, they were that good. I guess I'm biased, though, because I do enjoy all things post and rock. Irepress played a set of very jazzy metal—not entirely mathy, but definitely jazzy. Evil Bebos rounded out the night with a short doomy set. All in all, I think I heard maybe 10 songs throughout this show from all the bands. Luckily, Evil Bebos will be in Nashville on Aug. 12 at the Exit/In with Gunslinger.
On the Fourth, the 'Boro hosted its annual freedom bash. Hammertorch played: They rocked, they twanged. I really like them. I didn't stay for the other bands, as I had out-of-town obligations, but I'm sure Ghostfinger rocked. I really don't know about the other bands. I doubt you've had a chance to hear Hammertorch's debut EP This Hammer Fell From the Sky. It's like a Southern-fried version of The Hold Steady. Really captures the feeling of living in Murfreesboro—all drunk and bored. They are working on the follow-up as we speak.
On the 12th, Wolfcastle hosted Nashville powerhouses Jeff the Brotherhood, Meemaw and Turbofruits. At this point, writing about these bands is a bit unnecessary. They were good. You've seen them. Apparently, the people of Murfreesboro don't really care. Outside of the people that live there and a handful of other kids, the 30-plus people in the crowd were entirely made up of people who had driven down from Nashville for this show. I can't even give a nice-try shoutout to all the people who a) did it too hard the night before, b) pulled the "it's raining, parties aren't fun when it's raining" bullshit or c) just sat at home doing nothing. It's not like we get shows this freaking nice every week. I mean, we might if people showed up. So try showing up for this one: the Youth Culture and Arts Center on the 26 with Shoot the Mountain (formerly Jigsaw Mountain Boys), Eureka Gold! and Meemaw. And this time, I'm going to leave you with a challenge: To any and all wiffleballers in Nashville, get your shit together because Murfreesboro is looking to show you how it's done.
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