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Brian Jonestown Massacre
The Warlocks
The Quarter After
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Velvet Room
Salt Lake City, UT
7/18/2005
By: Meagan Rockne
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Here are several things that I learned from my Brian
Jonestown Massacre experience:
Silk and drunk people should never be in close proximity
to each other.
There exist a person that inhabits both the hippie and
the hipster qualities.
Even 70's rock revivalists wear girls' pants.
Cigarette smoke can irritate sunburn.
Even 'Guidos' like to dance.
Drunken boys dancing around make me
uncomfortable.
Even rockers watch The Weather Channel.
The night began slowly - running about twenty minutes
behind schedule. Unfortunately, the first band, The Quarter
After, did not help with the situation. I really am crossing my
fingers that the band was just nervous or maybe tired
because if they are always like that, then I feel bad for the
audiences at their shows. If you are going to be a retro
1970's rock band then you need to have something special,
some energy or else you end up being boring. During their
30-minute set, I kept having college flashbacks of watching
really bad frat bands cover Led Zeppelin and Lynyrd
Skynyrd. I have no doubt that they are a talented group of
men, but their live show lacks any sort of entertainment
value.
The Warlocks went on next. They are an interesting band.
Just from their set up, you know things were going to be a
little different. They have so many obviously different
personalities on stage that it's almost like a sideshow. They
have two drummers set up in mirror image, two females in
the band - one on keyboards and the other on bass and
three guitarists - one sporting a sweater vest, the second
looking like an extra from Deadwood and the
third (and lead vocalist) looking more like he should be in a
hardcore/screamo band rather than one that plays sort of
psychedelic-indie-alternative-rock. Whatever the genre, the
main thing is that they are really good. They got me
dancing. Even if I weren't inclined to dance, I would have
had fun, especially watching the drummers work in
synchronization. That was just cool. The Warlocks seemed to
fit better musically with Brian Jonestown Massacre, who were
about to go on next.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on Brian Jonestown
Massacre, or more to the point, front man Anton Newcombe.
I know that I had a certain expectation. I honestly thought
he was going to be mean, have an attitude and probably
leave the set early in a fit. What I didn't expect was for him
to be funny and interact with the crowd. It was obvious that
after he came out on stage that my assumptions were
wrong.
Newcombe took to the left side of the stage sporting a very
Facts of Life hair cut and instantly the crowd
took to shouting requests, along with a few "I love you,
Anton's" ...from guys. A lone girl shouted, "I like your ass in
those pants." Newcombe played off it responding to each
with a witty remark. He also informed the audience that he
would get around to all the requests and he did, at least to
most of them. It seemed that the band played more off
requests and mood rather than a written set list.
Brian Jonestown Massacre was able to keep up their energy
for the entire set - the hour and half set. By the end of the
night my feet killed me, my lungs burned from the cigarette
smoke and my opinion had changed. How can you not like a
guy who blows bubbles in his drink, has his pant leg tucked
into his boot during the entire show and who watches The
Weather Channel?
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