It’s Monday evening and I’m in a big panic because I cant really think of anything to write my column on. Unfortunately there were a couple shows I really wanted to see last week but poor planning and obliviousness and my own hedonistic proclivities seriously cut into the time I try to set aside for simple music appreciation. I completely slept through an opportunity to see my very favorite current band, Awesome Color play at Bottom of the Hill last Tuesday and I’m still kicking myself for it. I was told that it was a very under-attended show, which surprises me considering the press Awesome Color and the headliner Be Your Own Pet are getting and the indie credibility of being on Ecstatic Peace records, the new label run by Thurston Moore the godhead godfather of indie crossover art-punk with his own beloved band Sonic Youth. Perhaps there was some unexplainable energy vortex preventing music lovers from arriving to their chosen point of destination that night. Yeah, I’d like to think it wasn’t simply my fault, that there was some other cosmic or paranormal element that kept myself as well as others away from our chosen musical destination. It’s easier that way. I can only hope they’ll return to sf real soon. I cant get enough of awesome colors eponymous debut disc
Another event that I was more or less clueless about until the day before and I had to work that night and I couldn’t trade shifts with that short of notice was the San Francisco debut of the incredible group from the early 80’s post punk New York No Wave scene, ESG. Yes, the group of the four sisters Scroggins, whose parents bought them instruments to keep them out of trouble in the south Bronx over 26 years ago, who rose to fame through gigs at Paradise Garage and captured the attention of British producer Martin Hannet of factory records, finally played San Francisco. The new touring group of ESG now features a couple less original sisters, replaced by daughters and cousins so they’ve kept it in the family and have released two new LPs with that highly influential trademark minimal funkiness intact. It’s an interesting fact that next to James Brown, ESG are one of the most widely sampled groups in all of rap and hip-hop music. I’d give my eye teeth to catch them live and I completely let the date slip by without even noticing. I played from their catalogue liberally that night at work and realized more than ever what a totally unspoiled and natural talent and sound these girls created and continue to create and what an impact they’ve had on music and how many of my current favorites definitely name them as influences. I cant believe I missed my chance to catch them perform. I think I may have thought it was the other ESG who is a rapper, as this ESG certainly don’t tour very often at all. I’m anxiously awaiting any reports on the show from anyone I know who went.
I’m almost sort of thinking that seeing the diamanda galas show the previous weekend sort of negated all the other musical events I was planning on taking in for awhile. It was so outstanding and so unusual yet completely satisfying on so many technical levels. My mind is still reeling on that one.
Which leads us to the present time, Monday night and so far I’ve written about two shows I missed! Woo hoo! That’s some cutting edge music journalism for ya. Hmmmmmm. Lets see…what else should I talk about? How my room mate keeps coming out of his room where he is deeply engrossed in PBS to tell me that the catastrophic and inevitable reversal of the magnetic poles for this planet is overdue by 40,000 years and that its already starting to happen and he’s oddly overjoyed by this, how people will suffer countless tragic effects, death from exposure to elements suddenly intensified, rivers will reverse their flow, birds will migrate to the wrong place and die, stuff like that. He returns a few minutes later to share that the next Nova program is a long special on the Yellow Fever. He can hardly contain his glee. He loves plagues and diseases. He’s bouncing around the house giggling in excitement. He is of course the one who took me to see diamanda galas, bless his little black festering heart and itchy feverish swelling brain. Freak.
Often I turn to the internet for worthy topics to write about at times like these and when I did that tonight I checked into two of my favorite blogs for punk rock music downloads only to learn that they have posted their final entries and are closing up shop. Strange Reaction and Dressed For The H Bomb both provided tons of hard to find rare hardcore and punk rock relics, often transferred from vinyl to mp3s and distributed them unless requested not to by the artist. I caught so much great music from both of these blogs, some old familiars and lots of bands I’d never heard before. Their posts were teaming with background and information on the bands and were rich with links and directions to find out more. They did such a service to forgotten bands they seldom were asked to stop distributing songs, if anything people were pleased to see their old band getting some attention. They were great blogs and I believe Dressed For The H-Bomb is still up and running for a while longer.
Finally, right at press-time I learned that Courtney love is going to be in town Friday at 7pm for a book signing at Borders Books on King street. Her combination diary/scrapbook/memoir entitled Dirty Blonde is published by Faber and Faber and promises not to be a kiss and tell. Also in Love’s future is an appearance in a classic play in London’s West End and the release of her second solo record, produced and co-written with Linda Perry. Love will likely sign to Perry’s Custard Label and a tentative title for the disc is “How Dirty Girls Get Clean.” She’ll always be a dirty girl to me, of course, even if her new bid for success works out without numerous legal incidents, and I think it will. It’s always a pleasure to see how any public appearance by Courtney will play out.