It List: Thursday

First off, some bad news. Apparently, all of Vega's equipment was stolen in Sacramento. That's unbelievably bad news for the group, which still has an upcoming date in Vancouver, as well as a couple of festival appearances in Europe next month, and a big show in New York with Grizzly Bear. Best of luck to them on either tracking it down or replacing what can be replaced; that's an absolute nightmare, especially to a group with such an esoteric arsenal. Full list of what was taken and more info here. Donations to help get the band home and to start the recovery process can be made here.


Please read our two new interviews below. Onto the list:

HALFLINGS/Weak Sisters/Concrete Violin/Mistress/Geronimo/Lychgate/ (House Of Tinnitus): Big show in name and volume and lineup. HALFLINGS have a live set on this current tour that I've been hearing good things about for weeks now, apparently surpassing the expectations of even the most difficultly impressed fans in all of music. It was exactly two years ago today that HALFLINGS first played House Of Tinnitus, with Cathode Terror Secretion, as well as Concrete Violin, who are the lineup again.

Another highly notable act is the minimally epic Geronimo, featuring a member of beloved underground act, Bastard Noise, Bill Nelson, who is also a master craftsman of noise-generating devices which he sells through his own Trogotronic Audio Electronics. Go to the page and you'll see an assortment of unwieldy handmade valve units, analog units, push-button and joystick controls. These boutique devices are not your average Guitar Center shit; you just have to prepare yourself for the unpredictable and highly independent analog phantom sounds that this equipment spews. I highly recommend trying it to anyone who might have a hard time understanding the appeal of noise as a genre. Tonight you'll have a chance to purchase a limited edition modulator (Model 86) that Geronimo is selling on tour for the unusually low price of $60. I think that's a great idea, and I wish more bands were creative enough to bring this kind of uniqueness to the merch table, instead of another shitty bathtub silkscreen on orange T-shirt that will undoubtedly be wasted on some unlucky overnight guest.

In short, this show is basically the pinnacle of artists currently playing in the noise and repetition disciplines, both national and underground.


Fungi Girls/Davila 666/Bad Sports (Double Wide): Good lineup at Double Wide tonight. Sometimes I almost second guess myself when I read the comments of countless cynics telling us how wrong we are, especially with an overly flogged topic like The Fungi Girls and their ages and would we still like them if they were forty etc. etc. Well, I caught them recently and their live show was definitely impressive and had noticeably improved since I last saw them. They aren't just good for being teenagers. They got through a set with a focus that I wish more thirty year olds had, and caused me to admire their guitar heroics, something I never care about. Being right all the time really is a curse. You have no idea.

El Paso Hot Button/PVC Street Gang/Gentle Ghost (The Cavern)

Top Notch Thursday With Sober (The Cavern)

80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's)

New Science Projects/Sabra Laval/Dear Human (City Tavern)

Broadcast Sea/Hands In The Honeypot/A Revolution Of Kings/The Phuss (Andy's Bar)

"Heroes of Woodstock" featuring Edgar Winter/Ten Years After/Country Joe McDonald/Canned Heat etc. (Bass Performance Hall)

ADD: Shakes/The Walk Home/Genius Party/Baconator (1919 Hemphill)