Until, that is, they played "Stop"... and from that moment forward, I was in the palm of their musical hands. Of course, this was a highly personal reaction (although I saw quite a few other faces light up as Ko went into the unmistakable opening bassline), because "Stop" happens to be one of my favorite songs by Mick Collins, and maybe by anybody; certainly it's on my top ten list of personal favorite break-up songs of all time. I've come into so many shows hoping that the Dirtbombs would play "Stop," only for my hopes to be crushed, that ironically enough, that night the idea they would actually play "my" song barely even crossed my mind. So when they did, I'm only a little ashamed to admit, I came close to hopping up and down and squealing like a schoolgirl.
More importantly, though, I'd been snapped out of my complacency and was now fully engaged in the show - which is a good thing, because as if suddenly becoming aware of the stiff competition they were facing on both opening and headlining fronts that night, the Dirtbombs pulled out all the stops near the eleventh hour and really started to cook. Though they contained none of the glorious pratfalls boasted by Easy Action's performance, the closing minutes of the Dirtbombs' set - a furious version of "Theme from the Dirtbombs" which snowballed into the best and most utterly brutal rendition of "I Want Need Love You" I've ever had the occasion to hear - were nothing short of transcendent. Finally, the home team stepped up to the plate, and I'm proud to say they batted a thousand.
I have to admit, though - if Easy Action definitely weren't the band I came to see that night, then the Dirtbombs weren't exactly the main attraction for me either. I'd been looking forward to seeing Mudhoney since the release of their brilliant Under a Billion Suns this March, which quickly became an early choice for my album of 2006. Based on that record, as well as another latter-day triumph, 2002's Since We've Become Translucent, I could only conclude that the band's live show would be completely incendiary, even well into their second decade as a recording unit. I wasn't disappointed. What Mudhoney lacked in onstage theatrics - there was none of the floor-eating frenzy that made Superfuzz Bigmuff such a classic sleeve - they more than made up for with sheer volume, aurally bludgeoning the audience with everything from fast-paced thrashers ("Touch Me I'm Sick," "Inside Job") to more deliberate, mind-melting heavy psych excursions (Million Suns' smouldering "Hard-On for War").
Article comments
1 - Jasper Borgman
I was at that show. Excellent and Accurate review..