Melodic Pop & Hot Licks for All: A Time Stopping Evening

"The child sees everything as a novelty; the child is always 'drunk.' Nothing is more like what we call inspiration than the joy the child feels in drinking in shape and colour." -Charles Baudelaire, The Painter of Modern Life

The eerie blue glow of my wristwatch pronounced it 9 p.m. as I glanced at the small crowd waiting in the Knitting Factory main space for the second annual Holiday Matinee tour. As my eyes moved from one group of 15-year-olds sitting cross-legged to another, the excitement of seeing a band (or in this case bands) that I like in an intimate club suddenly struck me.

I remembered being 15, when I went to a show once a season, not once a week. I used to debate and compromise for hours until I convinced my mom to drive a half hour to drop off a friend and me at a show. I recalled the euphoric feeling that would sweep over me once I emerged from a sweaty, stuffy venue into a cold Chicago night, knowing that all the bartering had been worthwhile. The show had been good, or even great, and, for a couple of hours, it had stopped time.

These memories geared me up for the show that was about to start. Around 9:30 p.m., the And/Ors took the stage for 25 minutes of power-pop songs. Despite some guitar-tuning problems, the band's goofy stage demeanor, with guitarist Lane Miller kissing lead singer/guitarist Daniel Black, bassist Arabella Harrison, and drummer Chris Wassel on the cheek throughout the set, spread the love around the half-full room.

The And/Ors' music, though pleasant enough, never breaks from a 90-120 beats per minute, three-chord, 4/4 time song structure. Songs like "Regarding Mr. Right" and "At the Saturn Bar" entertained me at the time, but 12 hours later I have no recollection of how either song sounded.

After a flurry of equipment changes, the Jealous Sound, fronted by ex-Knapsack lead singer/guitarist Blair Shehan, began its set. The band's only release, a self-titled five-song EP (Better Looking Records), is 21 minutes of pure pop/rock pleasure. The set covered the entire EP as well as some yet-to-be released tracks that Blair said would comprise the band's first full length CD, which will probably come out in the fall.

The band seemed genuinely surprised and appreciative of the crowd's enthusiastic response, as they continued in the fun-loving vein of the And/Ors. "Quiet Life" sparkled, with John McGinnis' joyous bass lines and Pedro Benito's guitar work resonating throughout the room. Shehan even joked about their new drummer Michele with the warning to "watch out, ladies, he's French."

The Jealous Sound closed the set with the hook-laden "Anxious Arms," and, by the final instrumental break, the band was moving in entrancing unison with guitars soaring and drumbeats flying furiously. Clearly, no one in the band was thinking about playing. They were no longer just a group of individuals playing their instruments. They had become a band, a single entity delivering amazing rock 'n' roll.

As the song closed, the crowd roared, hoping for another amazing moment. But, as Shehan and company left the stage, he was forced to admit, "That's all the songs we know."

The enthusiasm of the crowd and bands continued as the eerie, laconic chords of Death Cab for Cutie's "Your Bruise" from their 1998 debut Something About Airplanes (Barsuk) started the next set. Lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Ben Gibbard seemed a bit rushed as he arrived on stage wearing his glasses and dressed (as the Holiday Matinee web site asserts) "like he's going to the Pavement show," in a gray ringer T-shirt and navy work service sector pants. By the middle of the first song, the glasses had disappeared, prompting a boisterous audience member to inquire about them. Ben explained that he couldn't play with them, or they would fall off, and that he couldn't see anything.

Guitarist/keyboard player Chris Walla took this as a cue and played the entire next song wearing Gibbard's glasses, leading to a post-song cursing of the idea due to the headache he had acquired. With fun and games, Death Cab for Cutie delivered a set filled with a melodic and enjoyable mix of released material, new songs, and even a Bjork cover!

A third of the way through the set, when Chris Walla made his first shift from guitar to keyboard, the band coalesced. The band played "Photobooth," from the Forbidden Love EP (Barsuk 2000), and "President of What?" with a lush energy that highlighted the solid rhythm section of bassist Nicholas Harner and drummer Michael Schorr. The band returned for an encore, ending with a Revolutionary Hydra cover, "The Face That Launched 1000 Shits," from their debut album.

Milling out of the Knitting Factory with the crowd, I felt satiated. The bands were enjoyable, and the crowd was fun. As I stepped from the sweaty, stuffy venue into the cold New York City night, I realized that I didn't know what time it was. And I suddenly felt like I was 15 again. The show had stopped time.

Holiday Matinee Tour 2001 featuring: Death Cab for Cutie, The Jealous Sound, and the And/Ors

February 24, 2001. Knitting Factory, New York City