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Tue 1 Dec – Jay Reatard

Wow. For the first time in many shows my ears feel shot, but I'm not upset because Jay Reatard rocked. The songs were played faster and lyrics shouted out loud. He made good use of pedals but didn't rely on them throughout the entire set. He could also sing, and the vocals were mixed in just right volume wise. My only complaint would be that the bass was completely inaudible at times but you could always hear the drums at least. I was a bit worried about going considering he lost his band recently (so he had to form a new one) but I'm glad I went anyway. It could have only been better if his band (ie - bassist and drummer) had been as talented as him. 8/10

Thu 19 Nov – Melt-Banana

I'm glad I got there late because the opening band (whoever they were) sucked. Anyway. It's a shame that Melt-Banana get lumped in with all of the other "noise rock" bands, as they're clearly punk rock with a power electronics (as well as psychedelic) influence. The set opened up with the guitarist on merely just pedals and a touchpad (or whatever you call that), the singer on synth and a drummer. It was very noisy in a good, artistic - not merely just loud and obnoxious - way. They started jamming out on that, and it wasn't until later that the bassist and guitar was added. The guitar still had a lot of effects on it which kept things loud and interesting. At some point the singer attempted to talk to the crowd, seemed to have a good sense of humor and was really nice. My only complaint would be that the vocals could've been louder and the guitar riffs became a bit redundant toward the end. However, there were people moshing as well as crowd surfing the whole time. I think somebody summed it up towards the end by shouting "fucking awesome". They may not be my favorite band to listen to on record, but they're really fun live so I'm glad I went. 9/10

Thu 5 Nov – Fuck Buttons

I got there toward the end of Growing's set but it didn't seem like I missed anything. After a quick sound check, the Fuck Buttons began their set but shortly into their first song one of the amps went out. This continued throughout the entire show, ruining nearly every song. I honestly don't know whether to blame the band or the venue but it totally ruined the show for me. I mean, every time a song would start to build the amp would go out and they would have to motion for the sound guy to come fix it. At some point he started camping out behind the stage but it was too late. I think they ended the set with Sweet Love for Planet Earth but I'm not sure because there weren't any vocals and it ended abruptly. I guess I can't blame the band for getting annoyed but it was very anti-climatic which is unfortunate because they sounded really good when the amp wasn't going out, especially when they were adding the vocals. Hopefully they will come back, and wont have these problems next time! 7/10

Tue 6 Oct – A Place to Bury Strangers, Darker My Love

First of all, Darker My Love were pretty good considering I don't like them on record. They reminded me of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, although I didn't like them as much because they seemed to have more of a southern influence to their sound. I was immediately disappointed with how NOT loud A Place To Bury Strangers were (considering their reputation) although there were sound issues throughout the entire show. Basically the vocals, drums and bass sounded good (from what I could tell) but they were being drowned out by the sheer volume of the guitarist's effects pedals. At one point, I think the bass came unplugged and the guitarist as well as the drummer either didn't realize it or just decided to finish the song anyway. How embarrassing! You would think that someone who designs guitar pedals would know how to play them or that a band that opened for NIN would put on a more professional set but headache inducing amounts of feedback went on between songs and I'm surprised the strobe lights didn't give me a seizure. The best part of their set was the end when they finally gave up on trying to play their songs live. 6/10

Fri 2 Oct – Wavves, Ganglians

First of all, the Ganglians were a pleasant surprise. I had only heard a song online and wasn't that impressed but they were pretty good live. The singer went from acoustic guitar to synth and used some interesting vocal effects throughout his set. The drummer and bassist held things together while the guitarist added some noise. Wavves exploded into their set with effects on the guitar and vocals, despite the fact I had heard they sounded more acoustic live. The drums were much faster and sounded even better. I just wish the guitar had been turned up more. There was a drunk who kept making comments throughout the show which lead to a Black Flag cover. Other than that, they played new material which was cool to hear first live. 8/10