GUIDED BY VOICES: THE FAREWELL TOUR REPORT from SNAVE
Last night I had the incredibly good fortune of witnessing rock and roll greatness at Berbati's Pan in Portland, OR with my fine friend Mr. Bezoar. After a local SubPop band The Thermals did a fantastic job warming up the crowd, and then after Portland beat-poet Richard Meltzer entertained for ten minutes or so, Robert ("Bob") Pollard and Guided By Voices (one of my all-time favorite bands) hit the stage for something like 2 1/2 hours of GREAT music.
First, the Thermals: check them out if you get a chance. Their drummer alone is worth the price of admission, with his wildly animated style. He literally jumps up and down on the throne while wailing away with incredible power on a drum set that seems to consist of only a bass drum, a snare, a hi-hat and several cymbals. The guitarist is an excellent rhythm player and a good singer, and he coaxes some interesting sounds from his guitar. The bassist is a hi-speed strummer/picker who fairly vibrates as she plays. As a unit, they are very energetic, they have a fresh punk/pop sound, and they're sure worth a listen!
So you may well ask, what's the big deal about GbV? After all, they are a somewhat-obscure rock band that has never produced any hit records. The band's early musical output was very low-fi, which is to say the recording quality was not particularly good. Much of that music was done at home on 4-track recorders. Some of the performances tended toward sloppiness, and the band would include mistakes on the recordings. Despite all that, the early music had a certain charm and grace about it, and during that time period GbV recorded some of rock and roll's all-time best drinking songs. During the past five years or so, GbV has undergone a musical maturation. Pollard has surrounded himself with highly-skilled musicians, and the band has been recorded with better-quality equipment, so the CDs have a sound quality that is more accessible to more people.
Pollard comes up with odd song titles, then writes good lyrics and great melodies, and then he and the band arrange the songs very nicely. That in itself is enough to make them worth listening to on CD, but when they do a show... it's like a great big party where everyone is your friend, and everybody has an incredibly good time! And by the end of the evening, at least 90% of the folks in attendance are in the same frame of mind as Bob and the band! A true evening's entertainment, if you enjoy beer-fueled singalongs!
Bob did his usual high leg kicks, microphone twirling, pouting, posturing... and drinking. Lead guitarist Doug Gillard played crunchy rhythms and intricate riffs, while rhythm guitarist Nate Farley played some fine complimentary parts. Bassist Chris Slusarenko had a very comfortable stage presence, and played his instrument to perfection. Drummer Kevin March pounded his set in a style reminiscent of the Who's late drummer Keith Moon... lots of fast, powerful tom and cymbal work.
As generally happens at a GbV show, Bob gradually became inebriated as the evening went on. Tonight ended up being a tough one for him by the end of the show. I would estimate his consumption at half a fifth of tequila and at least eight or ten bottles of beer. Gone was the familiar cigarette, as Bob told us he has quit. Nonetheless, people in the crowd tempted him throughout the performance! Sometime during the last hour of the show, Bob took a major pull on a bottle of tequila, made a concerned face, stood silently for a moment, and contemplated the crowd. He had crossed the line of drunkeness from which a person can't come back, and in the process, he had caught up with all the rest of us! From then on, he was a bit shaky but despite that he kept with it. At one point he did a sort of kneeling "header" onto the edge of the stage, his head coming to rest between a couple of monitors... but with help from the crowd he was soon back on his feet, majestically rocking on. He persevered, and he performed until no longer able. He sang, partied... performed beautifully... until he was spent. The man truly loves his devoted fans.
GbV pulled some older songs out of their canon that were unknown even to some hardcore fans. Some of the better-known favorites included "Smothered in Hugs", "Buzzards and Dreadful Crows", "Queen of Cans and Jars", "I Am a Scientist" and "Demons Are Real" from the classic old-GbV-lineup's "Bee Thousand" album. Their latest (and supposedly last) CD, "Half Smiles of the Decomposed" was well-represented. I don't recall any songs being played from "Do The Collapse", which was one of my favorite CDs of theirs... but it didn't matter. The show was simply too much fun for any minor details to cause a problem.
There are only a few shows left, and then the group is going to disband. As of earlier today, I believe there were still tickets available for tonight's Seattle show. The band will rest a bit before doing a three-day set of sold-out shows at Irving Plaza in NYC December 3-5. At one of those shows, another favorite band of mine, Chavez, is reuniting. Wish I could be there for that one! (I did some Chavez CD comments a ways back in my blog... check out the "archives" section!) I think the Monday, December 13 show at the Tabu Night Club in Orlando, FL still may have tickets available. The band will take about 2 1/2 weeks off before finishing things up in Chicago with two sold-out shows at the Metro. GbV classic-lineup guitarist Tobin Sprout is the opening act for the December 30 show, and the Go's are warming up on New Year's Eve. If you ever have a chance to watch Pollard and/or GbV perform, it is worth it. He may well get inebriated, and he can get cranky at times... but he is an extroadinary talent.
Enjoy the following pictures. Mr. Bezoar took a number of great shots at the show. He and I were at the left edge of the stage, about three feet from Nate, six or seven feet from Chris, and about 15 feet away from Bob the Master. Rock on Bob, and rock on GbV!! You'll be missed, but I suspect (and hope) there will be a "reunion" tour at some point down the road.
First, the Thermals: check them out if you get a chance. Their drummer alone is worth the price of admission, with his wildly animated style. He literally jumps up and down on the throne while wailing away with incredible power on a drum set that seems to consist of only a bass drum, a snare, a hi-hat and several cymbals. The guitarist is an excellent rhythm player and a good singer, and he coaxes some interesting sounds from his guitar. The bassist is a hi-speed strummer/picker who fairly vibrates as she plays. As a unit, they are very energetic, they have a fresh punk/pop sound, and they're sure worth a listen!
So you may well ask, what's the big deal about GbV? After all, they are a somewhat-obscure rock band that has never produced any hit records. The band's early musical output was very low-fi, which is to say the recording quality was not particularly good. Much of that music was done at home on 4-track recorders. Some of the performances tended toward sloppiness, and the band would include mistakes on the recordings. Despite all that, the early music had a certain charm and grace about it, and during that time period GbV recorded some of rock and roll's all-time best drinking songs. During the past five years or so, GbV has undergone a musical maturation. Pollard has surrounded himself with highly-skilled musicians, and the band has been recorded with better-quality equipment, so the CDs have a sound quality that is more accessible to more people.
Pollard comes up with odd song titles, then writes good lyrics and great melodies, and then he and the band arrange the songs very nicely. That in itself is enough to make them worth listening to on CD, but when they do a show... it's like a great big party where everyone is your friend, and everybody has an incredibly good time! And by the end of the evening, at least 90% of the folks in attendance are in the same frame of mind as Bob and the band! A true evening's entertainment, if you enjoy beer-fueled singalongs!
Bob did his usual high leg kicks, microphone twirling, pouting, posturing... and drinking. Lead guitarist Doug Gillard played crunchy rhythms and intricate riffs, while rhythm guitarist Nate Farley played some fine complimentary parts. Bassist Chris Slusarenko had a very comfortable stage presence, and played his instrument to perfection. Drummer Kevin March pounded his set in a style reminiscent of the Who's late drummer Keith Moon... lots of fast, powerful tom and cymbal work.
As generally happens at a GbV show, Bob gradually became inebriated as the evening went on. Tonight ended up being a tough one for him by the end of the show. I would estimate his consumption at half a fifth of tequila and at least eight or ten bottles of beer. Gone was the familiar cigarette, as Bob told us he has quit. Nonetheless, people in the crowd tempted him throughout the performance! Sometime during the last hour of the show, Bob took a major pull on a bottle of tequila, made a concerned face, stood silently for a moment, and contemplated the crowd. He had crossed the line of drunkeness from which a person can't come back, and in the process, he had caught up with all the rest of us! From then on, he was a bit shaky but despite that he kept with it. At one point he did a sort of kneeling "header" onto the edge of the stage, his head coming to rest between a couple of monitors... but with help from the crowd he was soon back on his feet, majestically rocking on. He persevered, and he performed until no longer able. He sang, partied... performed beautifully... until he was spent. The man truly loves his devoted fans.
GbV pulled some older songs out of their canon that were unknown even to some hardcore fans. Some of the better-known favorites included "Smothered in Hugs", "Buzzards and Dreadful Crows", "Queen of Cans and Jars", "I Am a Scientist" and "Demons Are Real" from the classic old-GbV-lineup's "Bee Thousand" album. Their latest (and supposedly last) CD, "Half Smiles of the Decomposed" was well-represented. I don't recall any songs being played from "Do The Collapse", which was one of my favorite CDs of theirs... but it didn't matter. The show was simply too much fun for any minor details to cause a problem.
There are only a few shows left, and then the group is going to disband. As of earlier today, I believe there were still tickets available for tonight's Seattle show. The band will rest a bit before doing a three-day set of sold-out shows at Irving Plaza in NYC December 3-5. At one of those shows, another favorite band of mine, Chavez, is reuniting. Wish I could be there for that one! (I did some Chavez CD comments a ways back in my blog... check out the "archives" section!) I think the Monday, December 13 show at the Tabu Night Club in Orlando, FL still may have tickets available. The band will take about 2 1/2 weeks off before finishing things up in Chicago with two sold-out shows at the Metro. GbV classic-lineup guitarist Tobin Sprout is the opening act for the December 30 show, and the Go's are warming up on New Year's Eve. If you ever have a chance to watch Pollard and/or GbV perform, it is worth it. He may well get inebriated, and he can get cranky at times... but he is an extroadinary talent.
Enjoy the following pictures. Mr. Bezoar took a number of great shots at the show. He and I were at the left edge of the stage, about three feet from Nate, six or seven feet from Chris, and about 15 feet away from Bob the Master. Rock on Bob, and rock on GbV!! You'll be missed, but I suspect (and hope) there will be a "reunion" tour at some point down the road.
2 Comments:
Hey there Snave...
My friend had just seen GBV in LA and he touted it as one thee best shows of the year. He asked me that night if I wanted to go because his girlfriend was sick, unfortunately I had made other plans and missed out on a dynamite show. Brian Jonestown Massacre opened for them. Evidently between the two bands there were TONS of alcohol consumed, which, as strange as it may seem, was good to hear that musicians are carrying on that great tradition. Great photos by the way!
In other news I checked out Republican Power tonight and read his letter to the president and of course checked out the comments. I think TA may have gotten this letter writing idea from my site... I posted that link in the morning and by afternoon there was a letter up on the guys blog. I was really thinking that blog has to be satire but I went searching for his ilk on the link he posted Blogsforbush.com. And much to my dismay there are people just like our buddy True American out there. Damn it's a scary thought. It's as if the masses don't rely on intelligence any longer but rely on emotions and 'moral values.' Such a sad state of affairs in the US. Our reality essentially boils down to what we as individuals do on a day to day local level. It all starts with the individual.
Anyway, I wanted to check out your blog and say thanks for checking out mine. Ahhhh the brilliance of technology! Being able to meet and chat with people has never been so easy. I'm sure we'll chat again soon...
Thanks for visiting!
I think intelligence has gradually been devalued in our society. We still value information, but it seems like much of what we get is designed to mold our opinions. It seems there has been a mistaken assumption among many people that having lots of information necessarily makes one intelligent. If one gets most of their information from one source, i.e. Rush Limbaugh or FOX News, that does indeed give them information, but relying on one source (or one type of source) for information doesn't represent an intelligent approach. I think it "dumbs them down" by causing them to not pay attention to other ideas, opinions, or things going on.
And after all, people who don't pay attention are much easier to control.
As for GbV, sorry you missed out! They do put on an inspiring show! I love independent label music, and GbV's label (Matador Records) has all kinds of interesting artists. Their catalog is worth checking out if you like music that isn't at all like the run of the mill things we get to hear on mainstream radio. I've become a big fan of both Interpol and Chavez. Matador also has Matmos, Mogwai and some other non-commercial bands that put out fascinating sounds!
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