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Concert Report: 20 Minute Loop, John Vanderslice, The Microphones, 31 Knots

I got to introduce two people to Bottom of the Hill for this concert, which was fun. I always get a little nervous going to shows with new people, though, since chances are they won't like several, if not all, of the bands.

And the first band, 31 Knots, didn't really help. They played what to me sounded like a watered-down math rock, along the lines of Don Caballero but with vocals and without the complexity. And let me tell you, math rock without complexity is not very exciting. The last couple of songs they played were a little better, but it wasn't my thing.

Next up came The Microphones, which was really just Phil Elvrum playing guitar and singing. He started off great, with excellent low-key crowd interaction, and the crowd was really responsive. Unfortunately, the music didn't draw me in. Part of this may have been because I hadn't had any time this week to try to find some of their stuff and get familiar with it, but I also think the stripped down instrumentals combined with his singing and some fairly repetitive, lengthy songs started to get a little dull. This may be my fault for not being able to concentrate on the lyrics, but in any case, his set didn't draw me in, although the crowd was very into it. When he asked the crowd to sing background vocals for a song he got a pretty good response, which was neat. It made me want to hear what his recorded sound was like, and get a chance to listen to the words. But the live performance wasn't terribly exciting, despite the attempt at a story being told with and between the songs. I appreciated the efforts.

Then came John Vanderslice. He had a new cd coming out, and while I enjoyed the CD of his that I have (Time Travel is Lonely), I was curious to hear more stuff of his to really figure out how I felt about him. I already appreciated his willingness to put out songs on mp3s online, so I was familiar with some of his other stuff ("Bill Gates Must Die" is an entertaining song) and was curious how it would translate to a live show. It turned out that he played with a bass player and a drummer, so everything had a much heavier "rock" sound than it does on the albums. It made me appreciate a lot of the little touches on the recordings more - the little horn parts, the more varied instrumentation. His singing live, though, felt a little fuller and less whiny. Not exactly sure how to describe that, but it fit with the sound they had. So I decided to get the new CD and check it out, and the old one, since I had most of the mp3s anyways, and I wound up getting another CD for free. Whooo.

Strangely (to me, anyways), a lot of people started leaving during his set, including a friend that I ran into there. I guess people were there to see the Microphones. It was quite the eclectic set of bands, I guess, but to leave before the headliners even take the stage? Strange. Especially since I knew they were decent. And 20 Minute Loop put in a pretty good set. I had borrowed the CD Roger got at their last show we saw, so I was familiar with a bunch of the songs this time, which was nice. They have a really nice sound, though - the male and female vocals, keyboards, solid guitar/bass/drums. I thoroughly enjoyed their set, even if the crowd was maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of the size they were during the Microphones set. At least here the crowd was moving along a little, doing the indie rock head bob.

While I enjoy not feeling pressured to dance, it is strange going to shows where nobody dances. Is that made up for by the free stickers and buttons the bands usually have? Maybe! Maybe not! I'm not sure I understand the button thing, either.