Danko Jones

Hard rock has earned an ill report lately in certain artistic circles.  And sadly, some of the negativity being thrown at the genre is actually well deserved.  What with some of the same tired old bands screaming out lyrics you can’t understand to the same 3 or 4 chords bursting with enthusiasm but lacking any creativity, it does make sense.  But thankfully there is still hope.  Yes, spread out amongst the damned and bitter under world, there are some things to get excited about.  And making his way, after a very long journey, through the current mainstream is none other than the Canadian guitar-wielding maestro of the insane, Danko Jones.

Spokane is not much of an indie rock centered city in its entirety.  If it were, you may have heard of it more.  Fact in point:  who is the most famous musician to come out of the Lilac City?  Answer:  Bing Crosby.  Therefore, it only seems fitting that that there may be a half a million people yearning to rebel against the normal simplicity and mundane existence of not exactly having the cultural significance of their neighbors to the west like Seattle and Portland.  But, who gives a shit right?  Spokane just wants to rock! And they flooded the Knitting Factory to shelter themselves from the freezing rain that was falling, and to spend their Thursday night beating the holy Hell out of each other in classic moshing fashion.  And whether they noticed it or not, they were surely witnessing a revolution in the hard rock scene as the wide eyed and immensely talented Danko serenaded them with a wide array of intense sounding tales of love, hope, and of course, rocking and rolling!

As the lights dimmed blue, and spilled into red over a packed house, Danko Jones and his electrifying duo on the bass and drums came out faster than a bolt of lightning moving through a wind turbine.  The set list may have mainly stuck to tracks of his latest, and much more modernized, album Below the Belt, there were a few throwbacks from his last twelve years as a musician.  The highlight of the evening was definitely when he bolted out his 2006 single “Do You Kiss On The First Date?”, of which many of lady Spokanites were quick to answer “Hell Yeah!” as bodies surfed across the pit, and brassieres were flung to the stage (and then properly display by bassist John Calabrese, such a gentleman!).  Jones properly acknowledged that most of his songs are about, well, women in some way shape or form.  Many who broke his heart, some who uplifted him, and some who he might have had the opportunity to “pleasure”.  More specifically – pleasuring orally.  It doesn’t get much more rock and roll than that!

Danko Jones has been playing and touring since the alternative hey days of the mid 90’s.  And he has not lost that sense of actual creativity that seemed to have been lost as the new millennium took hold.  There was a time when rap lyrics where not necessary to be a successful hard rock/alternative act.  And this guy is still compelling us with this form to this very day.  Let’s be extremely proud that our man is keeping it much more Stabbing Westward than Linkin Park in this day and age.

There is something absolutely captivating about watching a thousand people lose their minds over heavy guitar riffs and ear splitting and powerful lyrics being tossed around the room harder than a pop star’s genitalia.  There is also something very inspiring to know that an actual artist and brilliant songwriter has gathered so much support and popularity in this time of screaming with a vengeance into a sad little microphone.  Danko Jones and Spokane were in perfect unison on this very night.  The sad youth and aging metal fans of this fair city lost all sense of reality for a short while, and the only thing that mattered was the pursuit to have the best time possible.  And that proved pretty damn easy as this high spirited and tremendously talented hard rocker left the crowd bruised and tattered, both physically and emotionally.

And as the final song played, and Danko saluted the crowd, there was a certain magic that was undeniable.  Sure, there wasn’t going to be a finale.  But, the look in his eyes as he prepared to depart was exciting enough.  It was the look of extremely hard work.  It was the look of a man filled with surprise by every bit of success he has achieved.  There was humility in this electrifying Canadian’s eyes.  He had down it.  He had invaded a midsized city, packed its favorite venue, and stole the hearts of old fans, and definitely created some new ones.  He would surely be off to another city that would steal his heart once again.  But, he can leave Spokane knowing that he left twelve years of his guts and glory lying upon the stage, as well as on the shoulders of a thousand Eastern Washington thrill seekers.  Just as any real entertainer should try and do.  And there is one thing that Danko Jones has that most artists of his spectrum have seemed to have forgotten about.  Grace.  That and the ability to write the shit out of a song, and put it display in the age old fashion out of this world, dirt in your eyes and blood on your shoes, rock and roll!

The Gracious Few

The recent snowfall in the Lilac City is reaching its final stages of existence.  The snow has turned to slush and has easily complicated the downtown streets of this fair city.  But somewhere in the deafening night, a strange bit of alternative music history is about to be put on display, as well as up to the test of time and understanding of fans who have devoted themselves to this genre of music for two decades.

The young have become old; the rebellious have become sales associates and marketing experts.  Grunge is gone, and where Bill Clinton stuck his dick is no longer important. But, where there is a glimmering light of hope for those who have lost their vibrant ways, you will probably find a band.  And on this cold November night, that hope lies within a franchise music venue.  And the band would be The Gracious Few.

For those who know The Gracious Few, it is pretty much old news that they might very well be one of the most unique 90’s alternative super groups to develop in recent years. For those who have no clue as to who these fine gentlemen are as of yet, they are three dudes from Live (the entire band minus Ed Kowalczyk and his scary pony tail) and two cats from the 4th best alternative band from the Northwest, Candlebox (including Kevin Martin on vocals).

What might not be entirely known at this point is that a live showing of The Gracious Few is one that is surely never to be forgotten.  And that these guys might be just as good now as they were in their heyday 15 years ago.  And for those expecting to hear “Far Behind” at high volumes, or that soft acoustic version of “Cover Me” you downloaded from Limewire a few years ago, prepare to be disappointed. These guys have their own shit to say.

But it is safe to say, the true fans are sure to enjoy these tremendous fivesome just as much as they would from seeing the band’s preceding outfits.Within their three hour set, the band managed to pull off playing their self titled debut album in its entirety, as well as developing a sort of “intermission from the hard stuff” section where they broke out the wooden stools and acoustic guitars to play from what they called the Front Porch.

As if they really needed to showcase it any more, The Gracious Few’s music is heavily inspired by old blues and soul music.  But, they’re influence seems to only be inspired in the way of blues music being a strange emotional outlet.  Much like the Rolling Stones and how they created their own Brit pop version of Chicago blues.  And just like Mick and ‘dem, the Few pulled off something magnificent on this night.

They highlighted themselves, as expected, by the working stiff ode of a track “Honest Man” which has the ability to hit your conscience harder than a shot of whiskey poured in an open wound.  They don’t pull out the old material, which might be disappointing to some, but should be respected by all.  Times change.  People change.  And some people just need to get the hell over it.

Kevin Martin may have left the long hair back in the late 90’s, but his spirit is as lively as ever as he belts through tracks like an opera singer on acid.  He has always been one of the best voices in alternative music, if not for any reason other than that he seems to respect the fact that he is only singing.  He has no instrument to tie him down (not in this group anyway) and he gives it a thousand percent as he drips sweat from his now middle aged forehead.  Guitarist Sean Hennessy has definitely not lost a single step in his lick abilities.  If anything, he has improved in ways that probably once seemed unimaginable.  Like that hidden jug of Merlot hidden in your Grandpa’s basement, he has only gotten better with age.

And the boys from Live (Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey, and Patrick Dahlheimer) seem to be getting along fine without their friend with the demons leading them in song. The one reasonable fear that many fans of the glory days of alternative music might have is what sort of influence today’s bullshit excuse for hard rock music might have had on these guys.  They obviously want to appeal to at least some of the youth, but how far are they willing to go?

Well, as the clearly showed here in Spokane, not that far at all.  Sure, there are a few moments where they seem to drift off into a Saving Abel sort of vibe, but they always seemed to revert back to the waves of sound that have always proved effective and much more crafty.  If an example is necessary, here goes — in the 80’s when Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page saw their former band’s brand of pure bred rock and roll desecrate in front of their eyes by a batch of synthesizers and weird hair cuts, they stuck to their guns and created The Firm.  Though short lived, it was obviously a brilliant testimonial on how solid rocks never crumble.

This is was The Gracious Few have created when they saw their own brand of music turn into whining and loud for all the wrong reasons rock mixed with turntables and Livestrong bracelets.  The wheel of rock and roll has to be constantly reinvented.  And these are the guys who can do it. Though the night was slow and mostly uneventful off stage here at this Knitting Factory (one of many across the land), it was an intense mind blowing display of raw talent by a few legends in their own right.

Yes, The Gracious Few might not seem as powerful as their original bands seem to make you feel, but that should be just fine.  But when these geniuses hit the stage here in eastern Washington, to a crowd that was easily  1/16th the size they were once accustomed to, they still came off as energetic and tyrannically stable as they ever were years ago.   Welcome everybody, to the rebirth of real rock and roll and all its undying and eternal glory.

The Hussies performed with their usual flair and style, despite an audience that was essentially non-existent — an unfortunate turn of events, considering that this group performs with unmistakable energy at all times. Their obligatory Spice Girls cover wasn’t met with screams of excitement, just some tepid clapping from the few gathered. Still, the situation didn’t stop The Gorgeous Hussies from putting on a good show, and there can be no mistaking that it wasn’t in the best of circumstances.

The group’s latest tracks — from an album set to be released in January, 2009 — are a nice example of the progression of The Gorgeous Hussies. They field a power pop style with ease, hitting all the right chords and melodies to produce some listenable songs. There’s no shame in enjoying this band when the only people in the coffee house work there or know the band, and the innate friendliness of all involved is a refreshing sight among abashed artists providing only more of the same.

• Concert Photos: The Gorgeous Hussies promote their concert tonight at The Grind Coffee House

Read after the jump for video of Broken Social Scene at Lollapalooza 2008.

Luck dropped in my lap: A co-worker and friend — we’ll call him Eric, as that’s his name — was interested in making the trek up to the area of his home town for the concert. I’d converted him to BSS some time before, so I found myself in a fairly fortuitous situation. Thus, the trip was underway. My head, swimming in the glee it conjured up, wasn’t quite prepared for what I would get from the Canadian indie-rockers.

We’d arrived maybe 10 minutes before Broken Social Scene was set to come on: Fortuitous, again! Opening with “KC Accidental,” the band I’d fantasized about seeing for some time provided something distinctly different from their recorded sound. Sure, this was definitely Broken Social Scene, there was no mistaking that. Still, there was a refreshing bounce, an action-oriented sense of urgency in their post-rock-inflected sound; it was this that separated the experiences. It’s not like I could really say seeing the band was the big difference, as for at least half the time, I could the head of Brendan Canning, and that was about it. Being short has its downsides — but it’s not like I’m that short.

The most puzzling thing? Not that I couldn’t tell quite where the drummer was located, but the fact that a section of the crowd had for some reason been devoted to that annoying slam-dance moshing. Really? Yes. It was… weird.

But the music — oh, the music! From the aforementioned “KC Accidental” to “I’m Still Your Fag,” from “Cause = Time” to Kevin Drew’s “Fucked Up Kid,” there was little to complain about. Tracks from the self-titled Broken Social Scene were injected with new life, with the vocals taking a new priority in the live mix; “Fire Eyed Boy” was turned from a track I often regarded as too dense and thick in the mix to a stellar piece of pop music — and as a result, I can listen to the recorded track much more easily. Funny how that happens, isn’t it?

All told, Broken Social Scene put on a performance for a mostly savvy Salt Lake City crowd; despite the slight nonsense with the moshing, fans of the band have been reaffirmed in their dedication, and the new recruits will have been given the best introduction possible to this unmistakably amazing group.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUMKD-7K05k