Party In Max’s Basement Saturday January 26, 2013
Words by Tim Lewis.
After a short night of sleep, Saturday was a long day at work. There were a couple of brief respites, but it was mostly call after call after call. I loved the quiet of the walk home, and was really not in the mood to go out or socialize.
When I got home Chris and Rich had stopped by. Mike was working on his podcast, so I popped on the new Elephants of Scotland CD. Rich had seen them once and had an idea of what to expect, but Chris was pretty blown away. We made it through most of the disc before they headed to Higher Ground to see Lotus Land, a Rush cover band. Just for the record, everyone that I know who went to the show, said they were fantastic.
Life was quiet for a couple of moments after they left, but then Nathan called and we set up the plan. I met up with him and we grabbed some beer and headed for Max’s. There were lots of people around, so we dropped our coats and headed down to the basement. Nature’s Gangsta were on rapping to some beats, but finished right as we got there. I think I caught less than a third of a song.
Max had a chalkboard upstairs with all of the bands and their order, so I noticed that we had missed Night Slice and Max’s band, Torpedo Rodeo. I was slightly saddened by that, since Torpedo really bring the rock and roll.
Despite being a small basement, with some really cool rock formations, they had a main stage and a small side stage. Nuda Veritas set up on the side and began the loops to create her songs. She sang beautifully and lit up my heart. Hearing her voice and watching the intensity, you’d have thought she was singing at Carnegie Hall, and not a basement party. Her songs have a shimmering elegance and I was enthralled for her whole show. I knew I would have fun at the party, but I didn’t know the level of musicianship would be so magnificently high.
Black Rabbit set up the main stage as she played, so when she finished, they began with a fury. Their punk rock was loud and fast and fun. Their songs have a fun direction to them and it’s not always obvious where they are going. To really listen to them, you have to chase the songs a bit, which makes their name pretty perfect. I had tons of fun for every moment of their show. They got me rocking really hard for the first time in two days. Every time I have seen them, they’ve brought a smile to my face, and Saturday night’s show was more of the same. They played a good long set, and confirmed that the effort to go out that night was well rewarded.
During the break, we headed upstairs and hung out chatting on the porch. There were lots of people at the party and everyone was fun to talk with. After a bit the sounds from the basement were getting more organized, so it was time to head back.
Peach Pie Zealot are a three-piece (guitar, bass, drums) instrumental band. They call themselves a jam band, which is accurate, but I don’t know if that really nails their sound. It’s a bit jazz fusion, mixed with an almost metal desire to rock. They opened with the guitar player using a slide to play some of the most beautiful and delicate notes I’ve heard in a long time. From the moment they began, it was obvious that something special was happening. As the song progressed, and the drums and bass kicked in, they worked themselves into a monster jam. They rocked hard, blew the room away, and were absolutely tremendous. The drummer was a complete monster and found some of the most amazing beats. One song that had a theme that they kept varying and they let it slowly build into a freakish monster jam. Every moment of the show was a chance to try and keep up with them. The structures of the songs were an interesting intellectual stimulation, and the notes that they unleashed kept my emotions pounding through the set. If you ever get a chance to see them, run, don’t walk.
Again, we wandered upstairs to hang out, but it was not long until When Particles Collide took the stage. After the Peach Pie overload, it was fun to rock out to some straight up punk. With just a drummer and singer/guitar player, they let loose a set of hard rocking joy. Sasha’s growling vocals and low slung Les Paul had the look and sound of everything you could want in a punk band. They closed with a couple of Green Day covers, but their original songs were the highlight of the set. With such energy, it was impossible not to release every bit of enthusiasm in my body and soul.
After their set, it was back to the porch for a bit, but it was not long until Endless Jags began to play. With three guitar players, bass, drums and keys, they had a full sweeping sound. It’s kind of indie rock sensibility with a nice drive as the music blows through your mind and body. They rocked and all the songs were lovely to hear. They had me moving from first note to last.
Soon after they wrapped up, Rawsome took the stage. Max jammed hard on guitar as he traded saucy lyrics with the radiant Jessylou. Their set was raw as always and nothing but fun. At different points they had 3 drummers along for the ride, but played much of the set as a duo. They jammed hard, we rocked out, but soon it was time for goodbye.
Thanks to Black Rabbit for the pictures.
Nathan and I took off close to 3:30, and I was home writing a facebook entry by 4. There was a message for me from Diane Sullivan to check my mailbox. I walked down the stairs, and there was a package with The Dirty Blondes album in it. I wanted to put it in, but work on Sunday called, so I saved it for later that day.
This post was originally published by Tim Lewis at his personal blog, https://timstriangletribune.wordpress.com.