BASSIST? WE DON'T NEED NO STEENKING BASSIST!
Sleater-Kinney at the Majestic Ventura
Theatre
Tonight, after living in Ventura
for nearly four years, I finally saw a show at the Majestic Ventura
Theatre. I've driven to Los Angeles probably 50 times to see bands
play since I moved to California, without ever visiting the splendid concert
venue two miles from my house. Plenty of acts I've wanted to see have parked
their tour buses there -- X, the Rev. Horton Heat, Willie Nelson -- but the
timing has never worked out. I can now report the venue is as great as I hoped,
with clean sound, interesting interior design, and 20 oz.-cups of Newcastle and
Widmer Hefewiezen on tap. And since I don't have a 60-mile drive home at 1 a.m.
to worry about, I am free enjoy these fine brews with
abandon.
The band that popped my Ventura Theatre cherry was the great Sleater-Kinney. I saw them play the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood 15 months ago. I was in the balcony with some unadventurous acquaintances at that show; tonight I called up Preston and we stood in the pit. Thank you, Preston, for your willingness to take a chance on an unfamiliar band. I'm as tired of going to concerts by myself as I am of eating unused tickets that I always buy thinking I'll find someone to go with me. Anyway, S-K were predictably loud and great, though there was something that felt a little perfunctory about their performance. Their entire set was 75 minutes long, including a three-song encore, after which the houselights came up before the band had even left the stage. That's a short show, but then again, the tickets were $13. That's the least I've paid for a rock show since I bought Autumn to see Sloan play the Black Cat back in D.C., before we were even dating.
The ladies of S-K hustled from tune to thunderous tune with hardly a word to the audience beyond the usual thank-yous. The Sarah Kain-looking blonde singer/guitarist (who sings lead only slightly more often than the mousy-haired singer/guitarist, who looks like a ten-year-old boy and dances like Angus Young) said that one or two of the numbers were new. Most sounded familiar to me, though I could put names only to "Little Babies," "Oh!," "Step Aside," and my favorite, the aptly-christened "Words and Guitar." The only song that got a true introduction was the first of the encore set: The Sarah Kain lookalike (whose name, according the official Sleater-Kinney website, is either Carrie Brownstein or Corin Tucker) said that the song was written in 1969 but was applicable to the current political climate. I expected "Fortunate Son," which they played when I saw them at the Fonda, but it was a song I didn't recognize, and now I can't remember any lyrics that might help me identify it.
I was conscious of being one of the older members of the audience. I've never felt that at a show before, I guess because I mostly go see old guys play.
The opening band was Quasi, a keyboard-and-drum outfit that shares its drummer with Sleater-Kinney. Other fun facts from the All Music Guide: That drummer's name is Janet Weiss, and she and the guy who is the other half of Quasi used to be married.
The band that popped my Ventura Theatre cherry was the great Sleater-Kinney. I saw them play the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood 15 months ago. I was in the balcony with some unadventurous acquaintances at that show; tonight I called up Preston and we stood in the pit. Thank you, Preston, for your willingness to take a chance on an unfamiliar band. I'm as tired of going to concerts by myself as I am of eating unused tickets that I always buy thinking I'll find someone to go with me. Anyway, S-K were predictably loud and great, though there was something that felt a little perfunctory about their performance. Their entire set was 75 minutes long, including a three-song encore, after which the houselights came up before the band had even left the stage. That's a short show, but then again, the tickets were $13. That's the least I've paid for a rock show since I bought Autumn to see Sloan play the Black Cat back in D.C., before we were even dating.
The ladies of S-K hustled from tune to thunderous tune with hardly a word to the audience beyond the usual thank-yous. The Sarah Kain-looking blonde singer/guitarist (who sings lead only slightly more often than the mousy-haired singer/guitarist, who looks like a ten-year-old boy and dances like Angus Young) said that one or two of the numbers were new. Most sounded familiar to me, though I could put names only to "Little Babies," "Oh!," "Step Aside," and my favorite, the aptly-christened "Words and Guitar." The only song that got a true introduction was the first of the encore set: The Sarah Kain lookalike (whose name, according the official Sleater-Kinney website, is either Carrie Brownstein or Corin Tucker) said that the song was written in 1969 but was applicable to the current political climate. I expected "Fortunate Son," which they played when I saw them at the Fonda, but it was a song I didn't recognize, and now I can't remember any lyrics that might help me identify it.
I was conscious of being one of the older members of the audience. I've never felt that at a show before, I guess because I mostly go see old guys play.
The opening band was Quasi, a keyboard-and-drum outfit that shares its drummer with Sleater-Kinney. Other fun facts from the All Music Guide: That drummer's name is Janet Weiss, and she and the guy who is the other half of Quasi used to be married.
Posted: Sun - May 16, 2004 at 12:19 PM
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Published On: Oct 05, 2004 12:29 PM
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Published On: Oct 05, 2004 12:29 PM