But Dead Low Tide made an astounding debut on Monday, March 4 at Graceland, blowing the crowd away with a new vitality and a huge, fat ass courtesy of Willis and bassist Mike Kunka. Willis had already proven himself to be a powerhouse drummer with MCD, but this time around he positively pummeled his kit, as Kunka shook the house with his infamous gargantuan bass sound.
Irritatingly, the show took place in Graceland's front lounge rather than the band room, rendering Dead Low Tide invisible to all but those who managed to position themselves in the very front (sorry about your ribs, guy!). However, it could be argued that the sound was all that mattered, and let me say, the glorious low end came through loud and clear. Thanks for rocking my ass!
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Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard was in fine form at the dude ranch that was his band's live show at the Crocodile on Tuesday, March 5. Here's a sampling of the inflammatory opinions the singer threw out to the mostly male crowd: Pollard hates Hendrix, Dylan, Joplin, and Robert Plant. He believes Bob Mould has yet to write a good song, and that Frank Black is a fat asshole. Kim Deal is great, but Pollard hasn't spoken to "him" in a long time.
The set may have been too full of new songs for folks who paid $15 to hear their favorites, but if you wanted to see the band that can drink five cases of Miller Light and a bottle of Jack Daniel's and still remember the words and notes to enough songs to fill a two-and-a-half hour set, you got more than your money's worth.
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First it was HEE-HI-larious, and then it wasn't so funny anymore. I'm talking about R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck and his British Airways in-flight comedy routine, a booze- (15 glasses of wine) and prescription-sleep-aid- (Ambien) fueled escapade last spring that landed him in the middle of a highly publicized criminal trial--and now could land him in the hoosegow. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. In the wake of September 11, three hots and a cot may be the luxurious life awaiting Seattle's biggest rock star if British prosecutors get their way. The trial continues, and It's My Party will keep you posted.
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Now THIS is hilarious: Last Friday afternoon, March 8, diners at Bimbo's on Pine found themselves in the company of Ryan Adams, who was so embroiled in the local newsweeklies while he ate that he failed to mind the candle on his table--which set his reading materials ablaze. Hee haw.
