Dumbek's Random Stuff

Back again for the second Teenbeat 20th Anniversary show at The Black Cat.



My night didn't start off so well. After standing in line for a half-hour in sub-freezing temps, The Black Cat decided to open their doors at 9:30, despite the 9:00 time listed on the tickets and website. Thanks. At least they had a coat-check tonight - unlike last night. Maybe enough people complained about having to carry/wear their snow covered coats around the club last night. I wish they had the coat-check open all the time. That's just one of several things that makes 9:30 a much better club.

But I digress... First up was HollAND, which consisted of a film of incredibly slo-motion footage of I-395 (near the Seminary Road exit, to be precise) along with a soundtrack of electronic music. I waited outside for this? Downstairs to The Red Room for about 15 minutes until that was over.

Next up were Hot Pursuit. Fine pop from 3 women - including members of Tuscadero and Blast Off Country Style (another Teenbeat fave). Made a mental note to pick up their CD on the way out.

Aden, hmm...I remember thinking they were ok, but I also remember getting bored and walking to the back to checkout the Teenbeat Buffet again.

Flin Flon is another of Mark Robinson's projects. They were ok, but they just didn't do it for me. I think at this point I was just getting tired from my long week - and getting incredibly anxious to see Tuscadero.

Things all changed when Versus hit the stage. Versus is another band that I'm embarrassed to say I only knew by reputation and the occasional compilation track. I was really looking forward to seeing them, as I've heard nothing but good things about them. Holy crap. They were absolutely fantastic. Good strong rock that had the crowd in a bit of a frenzy. Nice and tight. Wow. How could I have been nearly oblivious to these folks all this time? Rumor has it they played their entire The Stars Are Insane disc in order, in it's entirety. How cool is that? I need to pick that up before I leave. Another mental note. If their records are as good as their live show, I predict I'll own their entire catalog in the next few months. Versus absolutely blew me away.

But now it was time for my beloved Tuscadero. The opened with a rollicking Holidays Are Hell and the hits just kept coming. Dime a Dozen, Angel In A Half-Shirt, Leather Idol, Dr. Doom, Mt. Pleasant and a bunch more. We even got a cover to The J. Geils Band's Centerfold. Truth be told, they were a little sloppy, but who cares. I adore this band and seeing them was a total blast.

As soon as they were done, I headed back to the TB Buffet and picked up CDs by Versus, Hot Pursuit and +/-, as well as a couple more 7" singles (by Eggs and The Project).

The highlight of these shows for me was easily Versus. Tuscadero, Unrest and Eggs were also very good. It was just a very cool vibe both nights. The people you bought a t-shirt from a few minutes ago was now playing on stage. The guitar player from the last band is now standing next to you cheering on the next band. I loved the way everyone plays in everyone else's bands - a la Dischord. I forget who it was, but someone in one of the bands mentioned that they had records out on several labels, but they thought of Teenbeat as their family. I'll bet nobody says that about Sony.

Happy Anniversary Teenbeat. Here's to 20 more.


[Edit] - I forgot to mention that Butch Willis made a special guest appearance and sang a couple of songs. Bonus!