Real Lulu opened, and were VERY good. I loved their set, and was much more impressed than the only other time I saw them (which was this past Spring). Jim, from the Breeders, was sitting in on drums, which makes their rockin' set that much more impressive.
GbV was also playing with a substitute drummer.... Craig from the Method was sitting in, as Kevin has been laid out with back surgery. Bob was vague about the details, so I don't know how serious an injury it is... anyway, Craig was mostly solid. He missed a few endings and simple stuff that is competely understandable, as he's only been practicing with GbV for two days, but he didn't hurt the show at all.
What hurt the show was the practice of a small handful of fans getting on stage sporadically and comandeering the mic from Bob. They'd sing (and usually ruin) perfectly good songs... it seems to be a Dayton-only practice, and it's one I don't enjoy when I see GbV on my (and their) home turf. BY my count, it was about 7 or 8 songs that got ruined by these over-zealous fans.... or about one fifth of the total show.
Still, GbV persevered and put on a super performance. They had some sparkling moments (the tentative-at-first-then-rockin' take on "Always Crush Me" was a true highlight) and played a full 100 minute set. Despite the occassional set-back (the fan-dominated "Hot Freaks" really bugged the hell out of me), it's still a show that was more than worth my $4 (plus whatever egregious amount I spent on beer). I realize that Bob enjoys it when "the kids" display their enthusiasm for GbV by singing along, but he has to realize there are other "good kids" out there who really would rather that the actual singing and playing of songs be done by licsensed band members.
What made my $4 even more worthwhile is that I was able to get a stellar soundboard boot of the show. I would absolutely love to *trade* this bootleg. Just now, I do not yet want to run a tape tree, or sell copies, or any of the other options open to bootleggers. This is not because I am an asshole, or a dick, or money hungry or anyother unflattering adjective you can come up with. It is because I have yet to really get into GbV boots, and I'd like to take some time to capitalize on my luck. As soon as I'm pretty sure I've gotten all/most of the curretnly available GbV boots via trading, I'll open things up alot. I honestly believe bootlegs should be by the fans and for the fans, and not some money-making scheme thought up by people who have nothing to do with the bands involved. The show will be editted down to 90 minutes for trading and will include some snappy liner notes or something... if you're interested in trading, just contact me at "ag725@freenet.carleton.ca". Remember, outside of the two vinyl boots, I have nothing! I'm an easy trade! :)
Well, that's enough rambling for my very first contribution to PB... I hope you find that it was worthwhile. And I hope some of you would be kind enough to decide to trade some boots with me, too. ;)
Later.....
-- Rick Scaia | "I'm just bourgeoisie scum;
Don't Make Me Break You | Spoiled, rich, and dumb."
ag725@freenet.carleton.ca | - BlueKid