Dumbek's Random Stuff

Come visit my buddies at their DJ gig tonight at The Science Club. You'll love it. Trust me.

I seem to have fallen back into "lots-of-shows" mode.

Saturday night found me at The Black Cat. Based solely on this guy's review of an earlier gig, I decided I needed to checkout These Arms Are Snakes. I made sure I got there early enough to catch my local faves French Toast, who put on a typically great set. They never disappoint. Go buy their new cd.

I had never heard a note from These Arms Are Snakes. I read up on them a little before the show. The term "post-hardcore" came up a lot. hmmm...That strikes me as one of those terms that means absolutely nothing. Still, it sounded promising. After the glowing review from The Punk Vault, I was surprised to find so few people there. 1/4-full maybe? Anywho...they came out and blasted through a bunch of hard-rocking, loud, intense tunes. Not bad I guess, but not really what I expected. I think I was looking for less "post" and more "hardcore". They've got a bit of a Dischord sound, I guess. The handful of people who were there were digging it though, so I guess they sounded pretty good.

From a pure performance standpoint though, they were fantastic. Talk about giving 110%. Yowza. They were pretty incredible to watch. The singer's Iggy-esque antics had him flying all over the place...rolling on the floor...into the crowd...flailing all over the stage. So much so that he managed to mangle the bass setup, prompting about 10 minutes of banter while they tried to fix it. The band was tight and intense. Despite the fact that I wasn't that into the music, they put on a great show and left me wanting more. That's not an easy thing to do.

So I guess I'd say they're a great band, they put on a great show, but they just make music I didn't really get. They're definitely worth checking out though. Especially live. Check out the dcist review.



At the opposite end of the spectrum was last night's Slits show. They left me completely cold. I was really looking forward to this one, but it was a total snooze-fest. After waiting nearly an hour for them to setup, they came out and instantly started boring me to tears. I realize that The Slits were an important, if not revolutionary band. Maybe my sights were set too high last night. I gave them an hour and then left. I don't often leave headliners early, but I eventually decided I'd rather be in bed. Others seemed to agree. Even most of the band looked like they'd rather be napping somewhere. At most, The Cat was probably a little less then half-full. There was always plenty of room in front of the soundboard. The crowd just got thinner as the night went on.

I did manage to catch The Apes open for them though. Holy crap. They're just crazy-good. How can I describe them...."Space-Age Psychedelia over-powered by Black Sabbath" comes close. Or not. I don't know. At times VERY heavy. At other times lighter and fun. Kind of arty too. Always very powerful. Repeat after me..."I will go see The Apes every chance I get." You won't be sorry.

What else...Oxford Collapse and Chin Up Chin Up last week. Oxford Collapse is like a slightly more serious version of We Are Scientists. That's a good thing - especially since they've been added to the We Are Scientists bill next month. That addition changed that show from "maybe" to "definitely" for me.

This week...DC geezers Rustbuckit tear up The Red and the Black on Thursday. You've got Friday off. Go check 'em out. Wreckless Eric (yes - the Stiff one) at The Velvet Lounge on Friday.

November is getting quite busy.

The Apes - Lightning

(The These Arms Are Snakes pic is by Robin Lanaanen and comes from the Jade Tree website.)

Joe Paterno Suffers Injuries to Left Leg


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; November 5, 2006 - Penn State football coach Joe Paterno suffered injuries to his left leg after being involved in a collision along the sidelines during Saturday's game at Wisconsin.

Paterno suffered a tibial plateau fracture of his left leg and ligament damage in his knee, according to Dr. Wayne Sebastianelli, Penn State Director of Athletic Medicine. Sebastianelli examined Paterno last night and earlier today in State College, with the examinations revealing the fracture of the top of his left shin bone and the knee injuries.

(pic and text from www.gopsusports.com)

Get well soon Joe!

As I predicted, R.E.M. was among the list of hall-of-fame nominees announced this week. No big surprise there. Other nominees include Patti Smith, Van Halen, The Ronettes, The Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash, Chic, The Stooges and Joe Tex. I hope Patti finally gets in. I've been listening to her a lot lately. Maybe the CBGBs hype will make her a sentimental pick.

I'm surprised The Ronettes aren't in there yet. Of course, the fact that the Stooges aren't in there is just ridiculous.

How does that work with Van Halen? They had a few big hits with Sammy. Is he included? What about Gary Cherone, who everyone pretty much thought sucked? I miss Diamond Dave. I would be all over a real VH reunion.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seems kind of like the Grammys. Everyone knows it's a bit of a joke, but everyone likes the recognition. And I'm sure nobody complains about the bump in sales.


Completely unrelated: You really shouldn't put up your Christmas decorations before Halloween. Tacky.