May 1^st 2006

Red Dress Press

Body Parts

Doomsday 1999

Bodhisattva

and more bands @ the Joint!

Generally, I’m not so apt on getting so tore up drunk on a Monday, but what the hell, I’m all but done with school, and plus it’s May Day and if you’re not familiar, here’s what Wikipedia has to say about it: International Workers’ Day (a name used interchangeably with May Day) is the commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, and a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. The 1 May date is used because in 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, inspired by labor’s 1872 success in Canada, demanded an eight-hour workday in the United States to come in effect as of May 1, 1886. This resulted in a general strike and the riot in Chicago of 1886, but eventually also in the official sanction of the eight-hour workday. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently. In 1889, the first congress of the Second International called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago riot. These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International’s second congress in 1891.

May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot usually right as the first day of May begins. [1] In the 20th century, May Day received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union; celebrations in communist countries during the Cold War era often consisted of large military parades and shows of common people in support of the government.

The Red Scare periods ended May Day as a mass holiday in the United States, a phenomenon which can be seen as somewhat ironic given that May Day originated in Chicago. Meanwhile, in countries other than the United States, resident working classes fought hard to make May Day an official governmentally-sanctioned holiday, efforts which eventually largely succeeded. For this reason, May Day in most of the world today is marked by huge street rallies of workers led by their trade unions and various large socialist and communist parties — a phenomenon not generally seen in the U.S. (which has a history of strong anti-communism).

In most countries other than the U.S., May Day is often referred to simply as “Labor Day” or “Worker day”.

The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand celebrate their Labor Day on different dates, which has to do with how the holiday originated in those countries; see also Loyalty Day and Law Day, U.S.A.

In other words, it’s a real goddamn holiday, not some Hallmark corporate bullshit. So I got some corporate beer and headed out with my sweatshop made, corporate mp3 player and arrived to the Kendrick show on time, this time, despite a short delay in front of the Joint, where I was informed there was another show going on at 10:30. May Day 2006, excellent.

There were a lot of people in the showspace already by the time I arrived and Red Dress Press was set up. Nice. Red Dress Press was a good idea for this show, as they added a bit of variety to the otherwise phallic/guitar-driven evening. Or, at least they sound a bit different than the other bands. Not that the other bands sound the same. Oh, never mind.

RDP’s set was pleasant. I enjoyed watching the bros get confused looks and not know what to do to the music. More on them in a bit. RDP switched it up a bit for the last song with their line-up, which really didn’t switch much at all and the crowd was nice and the space was about half full. Which is more than GWB’s approval rating.

Body Parts played next and they played their best set to date. This was largely due to the crowd’s response, but also because the band was tight, perhaps being fresh from recording, or perhaps because they had decent gear, or just because. They did a stellar cover of Screeching Weasel’s “I Wanna Be a Homosexual,” which was appropriate for the amount of big dudes lathering each other with their sweat during the set, and got me to roll up front like a big dummy with a freshly opened beer and get it all over everybody. May Day. More on the dudes in a bit.

Doomsday 1999 are from the Seattle, and are very similar to another Washington band: Big Business, at least in line-up, which is guitar with a big amp and drums. The difference is Doomsday 1999 has a frontman, and Doomsday is a little bit more metal, more Slayer than AC/DC. I discussed the function of the frontman during the set, and in the case of Doomsday, it’s just screaming to the riffs and talking about racist unicorns in between songs, but that’s really all you need. It gets the crowd worked up. He used the rafters the correct way, and really, what really got me to fall head over heals for this band, despite the overall stellar-ness, was the brief, utilitarian set. They played roughly fifteen to twenty minutes, and it was perfect. Please, bands, for god sakes, keep this in mind.

Bodhisattva were the most anticipated band for the evening, at least for me. I guess if I have to tag them with a description, which I suppose I do, it would be brutal prog rock. If Jimi Hendrix was a white suburban dude that grew up listening to Converge and Fugazi, he’d be Justin Cory. The drummer, whose name I don’t know, is, if we’re going to continue this silly metaphor, which we are, is John Bonham and Cookie Monster. And that’s it. That’s the band. Ruling. May Day. I particularly enjoyed watching the bros try to dance to this band. They had no idea what to do. It was great.

And this is what I’m getting at:
Bros: Just dance. Please. Moshing, slam dancing, whatever, went out when it showed up on MTV in the mid 1990s. There’s this thing, it’s called dancing, and when everyone does it, it can get sweaty and intimate, which I think is the connection that you’re looking for. And more people can see the band. And less people get elbows in the ribs. Or pushed into pointy objects. Just chill, dudes. I know that it’s aggro music, but I wanna see the goddamn band, and if you really feel like you have to run in a circle like a Nazi, do it in the back, away from the band and crowd. Do it in the back, there’s a lot of room and pointy objects back there. Get the fuck away from me. I’m not asking you to leave. You’ve got every right to be there just like I do, but get the fuck away from me.

So, this night isn’t over. When Justin broke his second string right before the last song, I took it as an excuse to bolt and I put on my jacket and mp3 player, which isn’t really mine, it’s the old lady’s and she’d kill me if I lost or damaged it. I don’t think I did. I walked down to the Joint, and it was a strange thing seeing this other crowd. I’m not sure how to describe it. And there was kind of a crowd, which is odd for the Joint on a Monday, if you’ve ever walked by and there wasn’t poker. The crowd was a little bit older maybe, though I still, in most of my conversations noticed that I was indeed the oldest… or what was the difference? It’s hard to put a finger on, but these people missed the best bands of the night, for sure. Oh, these people are suckers.

The first band, and as a journalist here, I’m going to fail hard, but the first band from somewhere, had waaaaay too many members. There was the drummer, okay, he was keeping it together. A bass player, who was also excellent and should’ve been louder. There were two guitar players, and there probably should’ve been one. A trumpet player that spent half the time beating a pony keg with sticks, with an occasional bongo beat, no joke. Another bongo player that did absolutely nothing, who was off beat over half the time, but it didn’t matter because you couldn’t hear him anyway, and a keyboard/electric slide thing guy, that was way too loud. It was too much. The only reason I enjoyed them was the bartenders’ reaction, which was of utter dismay. They were bros too. So that was nice.

At this point, it’s very possible I would’ve gone home but it was May Day. Plus, I gave them my card and I needed to ring up ten bucks, so I stayed. For ten bucks I got two of those big PBRs and two Dos Equis Ambers. For ten bucks! Say what you will about the Joint, and it’s all true, but that’s a deal. Okay, and besides, the next band was the band I came to see. And I have no idea what they’re called, but the consensus is that it was their first show, and it was, in that regard, incredibly fantastic. It was jammy classic rock but on that Pavement indyrock tip, and don’t hate me for that one. The vocals were rather muddled and muttered, under-breath style and I hope it grows more confident. My other hope is that as they grow as a band and continue, the jammy-ness will be ixnayed, and they’ll just kill it with good songs. They’ve got the look down anyway.

When I saw the next band, whose name I gleaned as The Day Kennedy Was Shot, which is, like Fall of Troy, one of the worst band names ever. What do you do? Just pick a random historical/mythological event? How about May Day? Something with some meaning? Anyway, when I saw they were setting up with the same members as the first band, I bolted. I’m listening to the CDR right now and I can’t help but be glad I did. Pavement Floyd.Yikes. And I don’t know why I referenced Pavement twice. What can I say? They’ve been in the rotation. They’ve aged well.

Nevertheless, and this is the end here, but regardless of how good the band was, I’ve got to give a virtual pat on the back to Shan Dan for scrambling to get the shows still rolling. He’s a champion. There.