This is my first music post. A quick note about it. I like to write about music, but I don’t plan to cover it obsessively. From time to time, I’m going to write about bands I like, new bands I’ve discovered, and music I think you (every single one of you) should check out. This will probably be the most subjective part of my site, but so be it. I like what I like. I hope you enjoy these posts.

I know I’m a little late to the party on this one, but after reading: brooklynvegan: The Shins played McCarren Park Pool in Brooklyn, I had to jot down my remembrance of seeing their show in Washington, DC at the Black Cat, oh, maybe two years ago? I think it was before all the Garden State hype. They played a damn good show, and it’s too bad McCarren didn’t go as well.
The Black Cat, my home club for 8 years of my Washington based existence, has horrible acoustics, and is full of people who chatter endlessly. I’ve seen more than one band with frustrated looks on their faces after a night at the cat.

There are only three shows I remember being absolutely mesmerized with out of the dozens upon dozens I saw.

  1. P7300516.jpgDenali: Their first show was in the backroom, so it doesn’t count for acoustics, but it was a hot-ass August night, sweat dripping down my legs, I could barely see, and it was amazing. Maura Davis, the lead singer, was classically trained to sing opera..but decided instead to ROCK OUT and form a band. She joined her bro, who played in Engine Down, and grabbed a few other people to put an indie-industrial dirty sound behind her haunting vocals. Denali was to play many more shows at the Black Cat before they ultimately broke up, but the first was.. it gives me shivers. Maura is apparently in a new band, ambulette, which I look forward to hearing.
  2. Frank Black & The Catholics: Before there were any rumblings of the Pixies reuniting, FB had a pretty good thing going. They had one very tight album, and a few decent ones. I had tickets to see them the year before this show (maybe 2002?) but their van and equipment got stolen. It took them a whole year to get back, but it was worth it. They were really tight. Which leads me to…

  3. The Shins: Before Garden State, the Shins were just a band from New Mexico. And since one of my roommates was from New Mexico, I had heard alot about them. At a sold out show, their sound was extremely tight– they hit all their cues, and the PA was the best I’d ever heard it. I later found out that they were staying with my friend’s sometime booty-call, another girl from New Mexico. They were on the outs at the time, otherwise I’m sure I would’ve had the chance to hang with the boys from Albuquerque.

I was sorry to read the reviews on Brookln Vegan. Although The Shins are victims of their own success, they are a good enough band to be able to build on their sound, once the backlash dies down. The McCarren pool incident sounds like an aberration to me. Bad sound guy, maybe some speakers blew, or they didn’t have a proper sound-check. I haven’t followed whether the sound quality at the other McCarren shows have been any good. Sadly, I haven’t made it out there. The free shows didn’t appeal enough to make the trek, and the $$$$$$ shows were too much damn $$$$, not to mention I’d already seen almost every band.