Wednesday, January 13, 2010
The Spin Rock the Block at Exit/In: HP Witchcraft, Velcro Stars, The Whole Fantastic World and More, 1/12/10
Posted by The Spin on Wed, Jan 13, 2010 at 10:56 AM
Check out the slideshows for more photos: Part 1; Part 2.
We were a more than a little surprised to arrive at the Exit/In for the first Rock the Block event of 2010 to find that not only was the place warmer than our frigid flophouse, but it was also full of people -- fuckin' sweet, dude. And we don't want to jinx anything by saying it out loud, but we're definitely thinking that the Meltface music collective may be the harbingers of the Murfreesboro comeback we've been not-so-secretly hoping for. This was definitely the most forceful display of Blue Raider rock prowess the big city has seen in awhile.
We arrived on the scene as the openers were packing up. When we found out that the openers were named Homework we didn't feel too bad -- we were never fans of homework during our 17 years of primary education or the nine years of college we slogged through, unless that homework involved bong rips and Looney Tunes. (Damn, kindergarten was great....) Seriously, "Homework" is the least appealing name for a band ever -- we will most likely avoid them like the plague, for fear of bringing back horrible memories of detention and physics teachers who reek of Seagram's 7 and Kool 100s.
The country-comedy lady duo Bird Cloud took the stage next with a witty and ribald little number about saving their lady-flowers for their Lord and Savior. We're calling shenanigans though, as no virgin could cram so many dick jokes in three minutes.... Oh, wait -- that sounds a lot worse than we meant it. What we meant to say was that the ladies of Bird Cloud can really ... uh, scratch that -- this is a family paper, and any more description of Bird Clouds', uh, lyrical prowess is just gonna cause trouble, but definitely consider this an endorsement.
Kat Brock's set was sparse and minimal indie pop with just the guitarist/vocalist accompanied by drummer Simon Lynn, who pulled a Don Henley on the last song and sang along. HP Witchcraft, the new side project featuring James "Wooden Wand" Toth, James "Kevlar Crotch" Robbins and Glossary's Bingham Barnes, played a muscular set of amped-up space country that sounded reminiscent of Crazy Horse. Witchcraft drummer Tyler Coppage wouldn't leave the stage for another 45 minutes, as he was hitting the skins for both Velcro Stars and Hammertorch. The Stars haven't made an appearance in Nashville in a while, so we didn't realize that they had learned how to sing, which makes their approach to classic indie rock work way better than it used to -- we can't wait to hear the new album the just wrapped up.
Hammertorch get the "Glossary Memorial Award for Perpetual Murfreesboro Underdogs," based solely on the number of people who walked up to us and said, "Y'know, I used to think these guys sucked, but now I realize that they kinda rule." Well, duh -- you ass hats -- Hammertorch have always been one of best bands in town, but you were too busy gargling the butt-juice of some soft-rock bullshit band to notice. You should listen to us when we say things -- we spend a lot of time thinking about this sorta thing while you're busy tonguing the taint of Pitchfork Media. Anyway.
The Whole Fantastic World, who haven't played since their guitarist and bassist split for Chicago a few years back, were just as rocking as we remember them, even if they do sound a little strange outside the Red Rose Cafe's huge tiled room. Their tight, jagged prog-pop brought back wistful memories of the classic Theory 8 sound with its frenetic, technical drumming and off-kilter melodies and the general string of awesomeness that ran through the initial offerings from TWFW, Apollo Up!, Forget Cassettes and De Novo Dahl. Not to say that all those bands aren't still awesome -- they are -- but there was something really special about the whole mid-'00s innocence thing. Or maybe we're just lame and old. It could go either way.
The night closed out with a pretty rockin' set from Heartbeater, who totally would have been right at home the Red Rose with their early-'90s indie-when-it-actually-meant-something sound. There was a bit of contention among our associates about exactly who they sound like, but we finally came to the conclusion that while they definitely have a Chapel Hill sound, they sound more like an Alias Records band than a Merge Records band -- think Small or Knapsack. Not quite Archers of Loaf awesome, but close enough for a Tuesday night.
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you guys may hate homework, but i thought Homework sounded pretty good
Sad I missed the show. I totally agree on the Hammertorch comment. I remember the days of people calling them a Ghostfinger rip off...boy were they fucking stupid.
Get your mind out of the gutter about the Bird Cloud ladies, they can both kick your ass.
Glad to hear that the people who heard Homework liked it :) Thanks, Coppage and Yeary. You can download the album for free....
http://www.listentohomework.com/homework/Home.html
Isn't it kind of against any shred of journalistic integrity to say you will "avoid...like the plauge" a band (Homework) that you didn't even watch? Judging someone based on there name is as classically moronic as it gets.
Whill, I can't say for certain — seeing as how I myself was not the author of this one — but I believe that the allusion to homework (improper noun) was what is commonly referred to as a joke. Last night's Spinner happened to miss their set and then made a little joke about their name. In the future, I'm certain that Homework (proper noun) will get plenty of shots at coverage. I personally plan on checking out that free download, given the fact that I trust Yeary and Coppage's taste.
Also, "plague."
Also, "their"... if we're gonna get all editorial and shit...
Thanks for the future coverage. I understand that is a joke (and proper English as I just graduated with an English degree from Auburn) it is just a little more than annoying when your band is made to be the punchline of said "joke" and may turn off future fans. Thats all. I have no hard feelings, just a need for fair assessment
Oh, and thanks to the guy who took the photos, (those are great) and for everyone who was there last night
Whill, if you can't handle your band being the butt of a joke, you might want to move back to Alabama. The Spin are like wild dogs, if we smell your fear we're just going to rip you to shreds. Just ask Bad Cop.
Yeah, spelling isn't my strong point. You can make all the jokes about that you want!
This is Cayce with Homework and for the record I'm not offended. I hate that the writer wasn't able to make the set but I'm glad to see some people enjoyed it! I hope to see you all at the next show and, in the meantime, feel free to check out the website www.listentohomework.com. Any press is good press!
For the record, I definately agree with Cayce and I don't want to come across as being an ass. I'm not, I promise, and he is totally correct that any press is good press, I just thought it merited being said. Don't sick the wild dogs on me yet!
Sorry about that, folks. We here at Auburn do realize that spelling is a pretty important part of English, and we will try harder in the future to make that more of a focus in our curriculum.
I believe that Whill's emotions just came out online. No one is perfect, even Auburn folks can make a spelling error or typo every now and again. Professor, don't hang your head in shame, I'm sure you aren't perfect either :)
You should actually be proud of your student's music because I checked out Homework's website and it is fantastic. I definitely recommend downloading it for free. Glad to see some good music coming out of Auburn.
Oh, and The Spin, your "MWU-HAHA!!!" comment made me laugh out load for some reason. Check out the website.
Touche'. Everyone does indeed make spelling errors and typos. I guess the spotlight gets a bit brighter when said errors are made while accusing someone else of lacking a 'shred of journalistic integrity' and being 'classically moronic'. No?
True, professor. If it were my band, I might have been offended and made the same mistakes. I've listened to the album all day. I do believe that it is the only time that I have ever enjoyed homework.
Hey, sorry guys. This is Cayce again. Although I appreciate the support from everyone let's give the blogging a rest. I agree, professor; if you're going to basically insult someone in writing at least write it correctly. Frankly, I'm embarrassed that Whill took this liberty on our behalf and I'm sure he's been rightfully humbled. Homework was a side project of mine that started in 2006 here in Nashville. It was just some songs I recorded at home, hence the name. We've just recently gotten a band together. This was literally our first live show. I'm sure the Spin meant no harm by poking fun at our name; as I'm sure Whill meant no harm and simply lashed out without really thinking. All I care about is that we got a good crowd for the show and a good response from those that heard us. This passive-aggressive wit-fest of a blog isn't really what envisioned as the first impression of the band. Let's all relax and have fun at the next show!
And a heartfelt “thank you” to the new fans who have responded. I’m excited about the next show already!
i wouldn't take this as serious. it's a blog. you can start one too.
What's up Cayce? Long time no talk. You guys sounded good in the video I saw. I wish I could have played the damn drums for you :-/ Good Luck. I'm gonna go donate some money to you on your website.
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