The Rumble: Rumspringa, Nucular Animals, A B & The Sea

I've been digging the blues lately, especially the gritty garage variety, so when The Rumble's latest press release described one of the bands, Rumspringa, as "LA based blues soaked rock act... in the vein of the Black Keys," it caught my attention. "Shake 'Em Loose Tonight" (mp3) does seem to capture some of the Black Key's laid back amble.

Filling out the lineup are San Francisco's A B & The Sea and Portland's Nucular Aminals, whose playful and free-spirited indie pop I saw last year at Berbati's during their residency there. Don't know much about A B & The Sea, but the upbeat and retro pop on their homepage is pretty catchy. It reminds me of The Explorers Club.

Overall, it seem like a fun show. Plus, it's free. It's on August 3rd at Holocne. If I'm not completely burnt after PDX Pop! I'll be there.

Jay Reatard @ Jackpot Records

Anyone worried after hearing Watch Me Fall that Jay Reatard was slowing down and maturing, will be happy to know that on Tuesday he raced through a blistering set turning all those Kiwi pop and garage rock songs into scratchy punk. No energy lost here. Although it was a free show at a small independent record store, he played for a solid half hour, barely pausing between songs. I'm pretty sure I destroyed my ears standing up front. It took about an hour before the world no longer sounded muffled. Always a good sign, right?

Ra Ra Riot @ Golden Gate Park

Who knew that the cello could be the make-or-break instrument for a band? I certainly didn't (unless the band is actually a symphony led by Yo-Yo Ma); however, that was what Ra Ra Riot proved when they called a scheduled hour-long, early morning set after just two songs on a foggy morning at the Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. It was an inspiring and ambitious idea: Coffee, bagels, and donuts segueing into a 9-10AM set before the band hit the road on their way from San Francisco to Reno, but after just one song, the group announced that they would play only one more song due to a malfunctioning cello to the chuckling amusement of the unbelieving crowd. So, after acoustic, un-miked renditions of "Each Year" and "Dying Is Fine," the crowd of about 30 onlookers, the band, and the Spin Earth TV video crew packed up and wandered off into the fog. Although I highly respect their willingness to get up early and perform in a picnic like atmosphere, the execution of set was just a little awkward. Nevertheless, it was fun and here's a taste of the performance...

Gin Blossoms @ Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

First, a word to all of you Outsidelands ticket holders who comprised the huddled masses of churning humanity paying gobs of money and straining to hear Radiohead last night: suckas.

Paying only for our tall boys from Days Market, Awmercy (to whom I apologize for the length of this review), Brasilliant, Ancientindianwizard, and I were joined at the Boardwalk by our friends Lacy and Greg (and many other amazing folks) to get rocked by Tempe, Arizona's own Gin Blossoms. In case you lived in an Eastern Bloc country during the early 1990's, and somehow missed out on this band, do yourself a huge favor and download their hits "Hey Jealousy," "Found Out About You," "Til I Hear It From You," and "Follow You Down." You will probably listen to these songs and say "Wow, despite living in the former Yugoslavia in 1993, I totally remember Hey Jealousy!" And it is this infectious pop sensibility that made last night so amazing.

The (disturbingly long) Wikipedia entry on the band reports that "Frontman Robin Wilson is best known for his interaction with the crowd. He often hands off a tamborine to a lucky fan in the front row to strike in sync with the drum beat." And last night was no exception. The band came on around 8:30, and proceeded to spend a boring half hour playing songs no one knew, while Wilson handed out a tamborine, encouraged the rest of the crowd to clap rhythmically, and repeatedly thrust his tamborine-free hand skyward in the shape of rock horns. Then things got interesting.

Wilson disappeared from the stage, leaving his band to engage in an extended jam sesh. It was incredibly boring, but my heart was pounding: where had Wilson gone? Was he having a breakdown? Would I get to hear Hey Jealousy? Whatever it is that Wilson does when he disappears backstage (seems like it might be a regular occurance, as the band barely seemed to notice), it is totally worth it. When he remerged on stage, the Gin Blossoms proceeded to blow us away with hit after hit, touching the adolescent rocker in all of us.

Then their allotted hour was up and the 'Blossoms left the stage. Thoroughly satisfied, the ladies headed to the bathroom before taking off. But they weren't done!! As I emerged from the filthy Boardwalk bathrooms, my ears were seduced by the sound of.... Rocket Man. Yes, the Gin Blossoms were covering one of my favorite songs, apparently for a bride-to-be who was spending her bachelorette party at the Boardwalk (awesome). They finished off with "Follow You Down" a song whose existence I had forgotten. This encore left me deeply rocked, and a two time loser (I bet the Wizard that I would only recognize 3 songs, and that they wouldn't perform any covers. Who knew?). But really, there were no losers last night at the Boardwalk, only people who walked away totally awed by the majesty that is the Gin Blossoms.