Knitting Factory, Los Angeles
February 25, 2004

The Drive

I left work early at 6pm to get to my once a week C# Programming class at Santa Monica College. Sitting in the passenger seat of my coworker and classmate’s leaky jeep, the rain was almost unbearable. Loud, cold, causing unimaginable confuision among the already confused Calinfornia drivers. The walk from the payper-park lot to the far side of campus served to soak me about as thoroughly as one can be soaked.

Class wrapped up fairly early and a different coworker/classmate (there are three) rounded me up and placed me in his ‘86 CRX (also in parked across campus) and we headed off to the show. We had both skipped dinner for class and were in dire need of food. By the way, there is no decent fast food between SMC and the Knitting Factory.

The rain was blinding, several streets near the club were closed off, we got confused and parked in the wrong garage… and walked three blocks in the wrong direction before turning and walking five blocks to the club which, as it turns out, is situated directly over an underground garage.

John Vanderslice

We walked in during John Vanderslice’s second or third song and were immediately taken aback by the uneven sound in the room. Whether it be the fault of the room, the sound system, the sound tech, or the band, the levels continued to hinder the performance throughout. The drums seemed weak and aimless, the bass loud, lumbering, and lacking finesse. The rhythm section of Rob and Dave Douglas was clumsy as a unit and either too much or too little at all times.

John Vanderslice’s guitar always sounds amazing. He is one of my favorite producers, if only for his use of amazing and unique sounds and tones. Unfortunately, his guitar was too queit and muffled almost entirely by the bass. Only on the more upbeat songs when he stomped on the fuzz and Scott Solter picked up a guitar as well did the guitars really even make an appearance. His voice, though, was sounding incredibly strong. Possibly stronger than I’ve ever heard it.

The group played songs from all three albums, including crowd favorites Speed Lab and The Mansion. Most came off well enough and the crowd responded. Scott Solter’s guitars and keys were a nice addition, and he honestly appeared like the only person other than Vanderslice who had any idea how to perform on stage. Maybe it’s because the last Vanderslice tour was as a three piece with two incredibly talented musicians that my expectations were set so high. On the other hand, this was the second of 6 weeks of shows to come, and I can only imagine that many early bugs and jitters will be worked out.

The Wrens

The Wrens are crazy people. Absolutely crazy. Not knowing them from a hole in the ground, I was shocked to see them come out on stage appearing 15-20 years older than I might have expected. They had fun telling us all that they’ve been a band for 14 years and have lived in the same house since 1991. They look like rather unassuming 30-40 year olds. Perhaps office managers. One quite closely resembled Patrick Norton, host of TechTV’s Screen Savers.

To hear them play, you can tell that they’re from a different ilk than most. Influenced heavily by the late 80’s and early 90’s brand of discordant indie rock, I could hear nods to Rocket From The Crypt and even Drive Like Jehu and several songs. The leapt about stage, screamed, yelped, instructed the crowd when they wanted applause, and left most of us wondering what the hell was going on and why we were enjoying it so much. There was plenty of well-scripted noise, alternating guitars, and upside-down bass playing. They all sang. The musicianship all around was top flight. The tones and levels were appropriate. This was one of the most unique and jarring performances I’ve seen in months. Do not miss The Wrens. Although I can’t imagine anyone outright disliking the performance, I’m dead sure that everyone will be surprised by them at least once during.