Them Gourds

I got to work at 11am today. Yes, it was a good night.

We started out at our place with a vat of sangria and about 30 of our closest friends. Great fun. We laid waste to 3 gallons of wine, a bottle of brandy, a crapload of fruit, a bunch of beer, and a table full of snack items. Very fun. Nice that so many people turned out early and stayed out late on a schoolnight.

I left the party and headed downtown early to try and catch Kevin Russell and whatever other Gourds I could round up so I could drag them to the BCRP studio and record some promo stuff for my show. I hovered about the Neurolux entrance, then went to the studio to set up, then went back to the venue, and stuck near to the entrance for a while. They never showed--well, they did, but they snuck in the side door and I didn't see them until they took the stage. Oh well. Kevin's promised to record a couple drops for me and send them via e-mail.

The Hackensaw Boys opened, and they did a fine job of whipping the crowd up. Good solid 6 piece acoustic music that sped around the stage and stomped all over, though without the "look at us and how hickish we are" facade of so many bands like that. They were good.

The Gourds opened up with "My Name is Jorge," which was a hell of a way to start, especially as it was followed by "Dying of the Pines" and then "Hellhounds." Great way to kick things off. They were having some sound problems, but they seemed to get them ironed out quick--due no doubt in no small measure to Rche being in the house--and got on with the rocking.

They put together a good set, digging into the old stuff, taking solid turns through the newer stuff, and even playing a couple tunes I'd never heard before. The biggest surprise of the evening was just how much Kevin's playing the electric guitar nowadays, as well as Claude's time at the keyboards. Suddenly dude can pound the ivories like mad. Really impressive. For a good bit of the night they seemed like a straight-up rock band, with Jimmy on electric bass, Claude on keys and Kev on the Fender, with Max switching between mandolin and guitar and Keith playing drums like he was back in Prescott Curlywolf. It was a big change, and one that could have gone over poorly. But they pulled it off and even had me hoping for more of it.

The first encore had Kev and then Jimmy come out solo, and to be honest I'm having trouble remembering what they played. I do remember that one of Kev's songs was new, original, and just beautiful. The final encore was a fairly rushed and obligatory turn through "Gin and Juice," which was a bit disappointing after the others and in light of everything else they could have played. It was done rock band style, which was a cool twist, but it still felt like "OK lets play this song and get the hell out of here."

Seemed like they had a great time, and we stayed and talked to Kevin and then Jimmy and then Claude until about 2:30 in the morning. Then we walked home. Getting to bed at 3am on a school night is great fun, and makes me very thankful that I have a flexible schedule and reasonable bosses.

Now the question: Do I go to Seattle this weekend to see The National, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, and M83? Long drive. Tough call.