Apparently my main man Carsten Charles is a Yankee now.  Can't say I fault him for taking $160 million from the Steinbrenner's.  I know he wasn't even an Indian anymore, but I guess since he was around the same age as me and I got the chance to see him come up all the way from a teenage draft pick (sat it the stands in Akron for his first Double-A start) to Cy Young winner with the Indians, I rooted extra hard for Sabathia.

Congrats on getting the largest contract ever for a pitcher, C.C.  Here's hoping if the Tribe makes it back to the playoffs in the near future, they won't have to face you.

Horseshit kicked the usual ass, this time with Dave (most famously of Night of Pleasure?) handling the bass action.  The new songs are killer, but you knew that before, right?  As a sign of the one bummer to come, the PA speakers cut out at the end of the set.  Matt closed things out with an (almost) acapella coda to the last song.  I was glad I stood near the stage.

Hard to really describe Los Llamarada.  This set seemed to pick up as a progression from where they left off with their S-S LP's.  Totally amazing jams.  We were hella lucky to have them come to Columbus.  You must see this band.

I made it to the Summit for the later half of Moviola's set.  I liked their "I Can't Stand It."  The Summit was packed (as was Skully's).  A coney dog at Bourbon Street was more my speed between Moviola and Cheater Slicks (the main event).

The Slicks' "Sister Ray" made the evening's scrambling worthwhile.  Faithful to the original but with that added Shannon Bros. guitar magic.  Dana Hatch's vox and Mo Tucker-tribute drumming were spot on, too.  If there's a recording out there, someone needs to make this into a one-sided LP.

And if you haven't been checking Agit Reader frequently, seriously get over there.  A lot of good stuff on there.  The Robert Griffin interview I mentioned on here before is in the archives, as is a bunch of other cool stuff.

Obviously, this is short notice, but if anyone reads this and went, give us a report (comment/e-mail), please!

The Thorriors were in full effect and the band seemed to enjoy themselves.  Valient himself professed his undying love for Hound Dog's Pizza.  It was a magical evening.

I admit, some of the time I didn't know what Valient was talking about.  But one thing is clear:  we've gotta take matters into our own hands.  After all, who's going to help you -- a bipartisan commission?

Mr. Rubberburner started off.  The bassman extraordinaire wasn't in the house, but the band nevertheless sounded better than the last time.  The songs definitely were a bit more polished.  I'm down.

Mr. Rubberburner (bigger pic)

The 'Shake was the main attraction, though, and damned if they didn't end up kicking some ass.  Not without some drama.  The equipment was going out left and right early on.  "Fake Your Own Death," the opener, was ruined due to the malfunctions, and the amps or whatever kept going out for the first 15 minutes or so.  That, coupled with the need to get the guitars completely retuned for different songs, got things off to a fairly rocky start.  Cut 'em some slack, though.  This was their first show in a year and a half.

Prisonshake . . . Enkler wasn't messing around (bigger pic) 

Things continued to be a little tense throughout the main set.  As the equipment kept freaking out and a handful of people started streaming out of the bar, the band looked more than a little frustrated.  There was a knowing, shiteating grin on Enkler's face during "The Cut-Out Bin" as he pointed to the stage floor and sang, "Some say that rock and roll has died, and at times like these I wish they were right."

No shit, Griffin's the man (bigger pic)

Early set highlight was "Fuck Your Self Esteem," after which Enkler and Griffin gave the origins of the title.  By the end of the set, the band was on fire.  "Elijah" was probably my fave, which may have been fairly obvious when Enkler singled me out to join in on the backup vox.  Those encores killed, too.  Damn, they played "Carthage Burns" and "Seemed a Brilliant Idea."

All in all, this started a bit rocky and was maybe in peril, but by the end this turned out to be one of the more memorable shows for me this year.  These dudes are definitely cool guys as well.  I was a bit scared I might've freaked Enkler out with my fanboyism, but he seemed to get a genuine kick out of me requesting "AIDS Reduction Plan."  Scariano came up and talked to me after the show (he couldn't talk me in to driving up to Cleveland for the show Saturday, but he did hook me up with the setlist pictured below).  And Griffin graciously gave me 45 minutes for an interview that'll go up on the Agit Reader site.

El Jesus opened with two longish, plodding jams that I totally dug.  Thus setting the mood, they transitioned nicely into the more "traditional" stuff.  'Twas all good.  As cliche as it might sound, every time I see El Jesus, it seems like they top themselves.

I'd first seen Dan Melchior und das Menace during SXSW this year and really dug their set.  They rocked then, but the band sounded tighter during this Ohio appearance (maybe it was just me).  Anyway, high-energy, tension-filled rock hit after hit here.  Definitely check them out when they come by your locality.

Dan Melchior und das Menace at Carabar

The two-band bill let each group find their groove and (at least in El Jesus' case) seemingly explore some areas that they don't normally get to in their live sets.  And it was all over before 2 a.m.  More two-band bills, please.

Prisonshake's Dirty Moons saw its official release a few weeks ago, and I've gotten the chance to give the record a good six to eight listens so far.  Obvious first impression: this sucker's long (close to 80 minutes), not to mention dense. 

Usually when it takes forever for a band to get a record together, it's a sign that it's going to get dragged down to mediocrity by virtue of its intended grandiosity.  Thankfully, Robert Griffin, Doug Enkler & Co. know better.  When I say this is a dense record, I mean that there's a lot going on here, and it's going to take a lot of listens to get a handle on everything.  That's the mark of a good record, but it's also the mark of a challenging record, so don't expect this one to totally kick you on your ass the first listen or two.

Stylistically, Dirty Moons goes all over the place, but it gets there the right way.  Take side one for example (it's one of the best sides of a double-LP in recent memory).  Prisonshake lets you know you're listening to Prisonshake with "Fake Your Own Death," which is a sorta slow, scheming rocker that takes off a little over half way through, throwing guitar solos, abrupt sonic shifts, and wholly unexpected snippets in the mixer.  Just like Ma used to make, if Ma made I'm Really Fucked Now.  "I Will Comment," an instant classic 'Shake anthem (maybe think a slow, mature "Fall Right Down"?), follows and leads into the kick-ass "The Cut-Out Bin." Next comes a stellar reworking of "Dream Along," which some of you will recognize from its former incarnations about 10 years ago as "Dream King" on the Anyway Records songwriter CD compilation and "Dream Along With Me" from the "Fuck Your Self Esteem" 7" and which might represent the most legitimate example of Tender Rock, what with its plaintive piano outro and all.  Side One rounds out with "You're Obviously The One," maybe Prisonshake's first foray into powerpop, replete with a hearty serving of "ba ba ba ba"'s.  And that's it -- five songs, all a little different, yet somehow a cohesive whole that works.

Sides two and three are where the "density" really comes into play, especially with side two's extended Scissors Suite and the side three "Year of the Donk"/"Leftover Monkey" medley.  I'm guessing, though, that as time goes on it will be these two middle sides that might be the most continually rewarding, with their essentially symphonic movements.  The band reaches some nice heights on the instrumental interludes here.  We get a good share of trademark Griffin guitar dirty fireworks, but now the rest of the band gets to join in for a sort of more fully realized envisioning of what they were maybe trying to do with the extended "Sweat Like Candy."  

Before first listening, I was curious to hear what the band was going to do with some of the "old" songs that had made appearances in various forms during the mid/late 90's.  Pretty much unanimously, though, all the new versions are improvements over the originals.  "Dream Along" benefits from solid harmony vocals, "Crush Me" sounds a little more fully realized in a Roaring Third way, and "Fuck Your Self Esteem" comes off even more kickass than before.  "Leftover Monkey" sounds slower and more sinister and works as the meat in the "Year of the Donk" sandwich.

Prisonshake's still got their sense of humor, too.  No farts that I've heard yet, but Marty makes a reappearance on the intro to "The Cut-Out Bin."  And side two starts off with "Your Sad Friend."  Young and old alike have to marvel at Enkler crooning, "Well, bring your sad friend, if you must / maybe she'll dance / let's hope she don't get too drunk" lounge style with piano accompaniment.  In true old-school Cle fashion, there's also the sound of shit getting busted before "It Was A Very Good Year."

Other quick thoughts:  "Memo From Chambers" totally rocks.  I like the instrumentals (e.g. "Nowhere Near (Slight Return)" and "Janus").  This is a great sounding record -- all analog, never overproduced, and thoughtful in the sense that each song tends to have its own sound.  And did I mention this new Prisonshake powerpop rules?  "In Disguise" (this one's got handclaps) goes nicely with "You're Obviously The One."

Anyway, I'll stop rambling.  Quick summary: you'll get a lot of mileage out of this record.  Prisonshake still does whatever the hell it wants to really well.  And I know I keep making my fanboy references here, but this isn't an album that requires familiarity with the rest of the band's discography.  If you haven't gotten hip to Prisonshake yet, this is as good a place as any to start.  Buy the friggin thing from your local record store or order it from Scat.

Obligatory bad photo of D.C. Berman & Co. (Bigger pic here)

No guitar or music stand with the lyrics this time around for Berman.  Instead, he went with the sort of "Southern English professor meets Elvis" stage persona.  The set was loaded with classics: "How to Rent a Room," "Random Rules," "Trains Across the Sea" are three particular faves of mine that made the cut.  More recent songs that stood out included "Punks in the Beerlight," "K-Hole," and "Horseleg Swastikas."  Too many to list, really (full-ish setlist here).

All in all, I really dug getting to see the band again, and hopefully they swing back here again soon.  Berman seems like a fan of Columbus -- he's got Central Ohio roots and he gave the city some praise in between good-natured swipes at Eddie George (probably rooted in #27's late-career ineffectiveness for Berman's hometown Titans). 

After the show I went up to Berman to shake his hand and told him that I've dug his music since I was a wee lad in high school and he graciously said, "Thanks for sticking with us."  It's been my pleasure.

I sorta have a rule that any time I see a dude in a sequined black jumpsuit don a helmet with a phone attached to it and play some wicked country blues licks while singing and kicking a drum and cymbal, I have to tell the world about it.

Bob Log III sizzled last night at Bourbon Street. Scott Biram threw a couple of strong punches, too.  And Grafton rules.  Over and out.