Dumbek's Random Stuff

First off...Bob Mould still friggin' rocks. He and Rich Morel came out and played 4-5 songs last night. Just the two of them on guitars with some recorded beats behind them. I was expecting something similar to the Loudbomb stuff I heard last year at The Black Cat, but these songs rocked much harder than that. The songs seemed much more guitar-driven, rather than beat-driven. Not being a big fan of dance music, per se, I was a bit skeptical about how much I'd like the new Blowoff songs. But they sounded terrific. I'll be all over this when it gets released. Bob looked like he was having a great time. Nice rockstar move, taking a big swig of water and spraying it all over the place. haha. Made me think of Gene Simmons spitting fire. I can't tell you how great it is to see Bob jumping around on stage with his guitar. He was much more animated last night than when I saw him at The Birchmere in December. Can't wait for his new record and tour. Brendan Canty on drums? Sweet.

As for the event itself, it was a mixed bag. Doors at 11:00. We got there at about 11:50 and the place was PACKED. Not "kind-of-crowded" packed. More like "sold-out-show" packed. We walked into the main room and it was wall-to-wall people, all the way back to the merch booth. Holy crap. It looked like the stage was pulled out all the way, making the room seem much smaller than usual. And the balcony was totally closed. Walked up to the bar and found myself standing next to chrisafer, but I didn't say hello, since he has no idea who I am. They were playing some kick-ass, rocking music when we got there. I think at midnight, it completely switched over to electro-stuff. Oh well. And it was loud. Ear-bleeding loud. The-bass-is-causing-my-hair-to-move loud. I saw several people holding fingers in their ears while dancing. The live portion of the evening was far more quiet than the dance music, and a welcome break from the racket. Even wearing earplugs all night, my ears are ringing a bit this morning.

The crowd seemed more like a Nation crowd than a Blowoff crowd. Sure, there was a higher percentage of bears than at Nation, but the shirtless muscle-boy crowd dominated. Lots of eye candy, but I think it took away from the vibe that's usually present at Blowoff. It just seemed like a mini-Nation. Blech.

Still, the drinks started flowing and we started bouncing around a bit. We saw a few people we hadn't seen in months. That's always cool. The crowd started thinning a half-hour or so after the live set. My favorite part of the night (other than the live portion) was probably around 2:00am. About half of the crowd had left, leaving much more space and a more typical Blowoff crowd. While waiting for the BF to return from the restroom so we could leave, Clickboo walked by. Being more than slightly tipsy by this point, I stopped him and said hello. Of course, he has no idea who I am either and I think I freaked him out a little. Sorry about that. He is adorable though. Best shirt of the night: "God Hates Techno".

I wonder if the club was expecting such a big crowd? Between keeping the balcony closed, the smaller floor configuration, the lack of a coat check (thanks a lot) and the downstairs bar being closed (I had to be escorted by a staff member to use the ATM), it seemed like they were either unprepared, or intent on keeping us as tightly controlled as possible.

Anyway, it turned out to be a really fun night, but it lacked the charm of a regular Blowoff evening. A normal Blowoff has the vibe of hanging out in someone's basement with a bunch of friends. Last night was more of a mini-circuit party. As long as they keep doing the live portion, I'll keep going back. But I'm looking forward to the regular BackBar night again.