The Loud Family Tour 1998:

From: Russell Keegstra
Subject: [loud-fans] Phoenix: We didn't stage dive

Yeah, I'll admit it: I owe my wife big time now. I couldn't find any willing Tucsonans to drive two hours to see a band they didn't know in the middle of the week. My wife, who works in LA, flew back in last night to accompany me to the show. She flew back this morning to run a staff meeting at 8:30. We got home at 2:00. She left to catch her flight at 4:30.

Her flight was delayed getting in to Tucson, so we didn't leave until 7:45 or so. Armed only with Chili Cheese Fritos, chocolate chip cookies and various carbonated beverages, we set out across the vast wasteland that is central-southern Arizona. At least the speed limit is 75.

We arrived at Hollywood Alley at 9:45, after some confusion trying to determine what was West Baseline Road and what was East Baseline Road. The room was not big, and there seemed to be a lot of people but don't ask me for specific estimates. Hammertoes went on stage shortly after we arrived. Um, let's see: two acoustic guitars, electric bass, violin, drums, congas / miscellaneous percussion, brass (trumpet/tuba), and a guy who does woodwind/vocals/musical saw. I was expecting eclectic, but the set seemed pretty MOR for the instrumentation. My wife described it as 1930's movie Hawaiian music. They were okay, but I kept thinking the longer they played they later we would get home... Oh, and they did a drum solo which the crowd seemed to love for some reason. After their set it was pretty clear that a lot of the crowd was there to see them, the audience thinned noticeably.

However there were obviously more than just a few people who were very enthusiastic about the Loud Family. Now, two points that need stating -- I have never seen this band live before, and I don't normally do live band type clubs. Maybe this is just to be expected, but let's face it; the sound was pathetic. You could hear Gil. You could hear something in the frequency range that could be either guitar or keyboards or probably both. You could hear enough vocals to determine the melody but not the words. You couldn't hear Kenny at all. My wife and I both agree: More Kenny. Gil is a wonderful drummer, but unfortunately the drums were way too loud. Keyboards turned to mush in with the guitar, and I'll say it again: More Kenny. More Kenny. I used my imagination and memory to fill in most of the words, some of the keyboards and all of the bass. My wife who is not as familiar with the music did what she does at the end of a long day in the middle of noise she can't distinguish -- she fell asleep. (I sure hope she takes off after the meeting and goes back to the hotel for a nap).

Gil is everything good that everyone says about him. A great drummer, without a doubt one of the best pop/rock drummers I've seen. Alison is also everything good everyone says about her. Are there any words left that haven't already been used? Effusive? Effervescent? Um, the non-carbonated definition that is. However, the choreography appeared forced at times, like she was doing the moves by the numbers and wasn't really into it (okay, raise the arms two three spin drop the arms one two play the chord okay what's next). I blame myself. She had even exhorted us all to dance but we weren't putting out. We were a staid audience. We didn't dance. We didn't jump.

We didn't stage dive.

We needed Tim Pintsch.

Scott clearly enjoys what he does, although I would think it demoralizing to be playing small clubs after all this time. I think I speak for everyone when I say he deserves better.

And Kenny. He makes bass playing look so effortless. He was obviously playing some killer lines. My wife was impressed. Shame we couldn't hear him.

All right, you've made it this far through my caffeine/sugar/sleep deprivation induced ramblings, there are only two more shows left, but I'll say it now:

I won't bore you with the play by play set list, you've already seen it and I don't recall any surprises in the regular set. I'm assuming the song that I didn't recognize at all is the MBV cover. "Mozart Sonatas" is better live. "Sword Swallower" is really cool in it's new incarnation. Oh, and "Spot the Setup"'s mystery person was Natalie Imbruglia once again.

After the set we were rousing enough to bring them back on for some encore tunage. At least two people yelled for "Take Me Down", someone behind me and I both yelled for "Don't Respond...". They started "Take Me Down", did a verse or two and then Scott ended it saying he didn't remember the words (to which Alison sang "It's easy, take me down, take me down...")

And then something magic happened -- they played "Don't Respond..." And The Sound Worked! I could hear the words. I could hear the keyboards separated from the guitar. I still couldn't hear Kenny, but it was wonderful anyway. And then the show was over, I bought two Tshirts from Alison and briefly met Dennis and someone who wasn't Dennis and then braved the long dark I-10 stretch with all the long haul truckers to return home.

It was nice to see them live, to see what they do when they do the music that I only know from "faceless" albums. We're going to see if we can get to the SF show next Saturday. Hopefully the sound will be okay. Hopefully we will be able to finally hear Kenny.

Ramblin Russ

From: Jon Gabriel
Subject: [loud-fans] A long Phoenix Show Recap [too late for spoilers!]

In 1986, I picked up a cassette called "Real Nighttime" by a band I never heard of just because the cover made it "look" like it would be good. Ever since then Game Theory/Loud Family has been one of my most favorite bands but I have never been able to see them live. They have only come to Phoenix once (in 1988), but at that time I was stationed on a submarine off the Hawaiian coast. Finally, after 12 long years in the wilderness, the wait was over.

I got to the venue after unsuccessfully trying to talk my fiance into staying up extra late in the middle of the work week. She has not yet converted to the One True Way, but it's only a matter of time with all my pestering. Hollywood Alley (the venue) is pretty good as far as a rock club goes and has hosted many good shows including Velocity Girl, Bailterspace, Starflyer 59, Apples (in stereo), Half String, Alison's Halo, etc. I arrived at 8pm right after LF started their soundcheck song, "Good, There Are No Lions in the Street." Scott was on stage with a t-shirt and shorts showcasing his skinny white legs (not quite as white as the legs I was flaunting that night). I claimed the best table booth in the house right in front of the stage, enjoying my first glimpse of them in person. I sat there with a mixture of awe and excitement, a little embarrassed at how much I was enjoying the moment.

It was good to see them when the place was nearly empty. I was mesmerized by the wall of sound pouring out of Scott's guitar and reverb boxes. Where I was expecting power pop, I got a healthy dose of the shoegazing music I revelled in during the early '90s with bands like Ride, Lush, My Bloody Valentine, et al. After they talked with the sound guy, I clumsily introduced myself to Scott and identified myself as a "lister." After a quick chat, he had to leave to do an interview with a waiting reporter, so the rest of the band sat down in the booth next to me for dinner.

Once again, I introduced myself and they invited me to their table. Alison, Kenny and Gil were great to talk to. Kenny was the quietest of the bunch, but he lit up when we started discussing Indian Bingo. When he was looking through the road tape I gave them, we determined we shared the same love for early Swervedriver (another shoegazing connection). Alison was very congenial, chatting about bands and saying great things about all the other loud-fans she met on the tour. And I can't say enough about how nice a guy Gil is. Very polite, generous and genuine. It's always refreshing to meet your musical "heroes" and see that they're nice, cool people.

Dennis came in later and this was our first meeting despite our many email correspondences. Both he and his girlfriend joined us and the whole dinner quickly turned in to a relaxed hang-out. After his interview, Scott dropped back by and chatted a bit, and later Alison's cousin Amy (whose house the band was staying at) joined us.

The opening band was a local neo-swing/latin/fusion operation called the Hammertoes. There were eight of them including two acoustic guitarists, a drummer, a bongo player, a fretless bassist, a tuba/trumpet player, a violinist, and a singer who alternated between clarinet, trumpet and musical saw. They were pretty good and definately different than the normal guitar/bass/drums units that would have usually opened. The crowd really enjoyed the five-minute drum/bongo interlude, especially Gil. The club was packed, but about 1/4 of the crowd left after the opening act. Several in the crowd looked like some of the Hammertoes parents, so that accounted for the crowd attenuation.

Finally! LF took the stage and Scott strolled up in his shiny black shirt to a very good crowd response from the 60 or so that were there (I have no idea if this is an accurate number, but it sounds about right) which is a decent size for a rather obscure band on a school night. I won't bother going thru the playlist since it was probably the same as on the rest of the tour, but I loved its diversity. From RN to DfD, it showed the great range of the GT/LF catalog. I loved his re-arrangement of "Sword Swallower" and his added lyrics to "Spot the Setup" including Natalie Imbruglia (our newest annoying media-fabricated songwriter/supermodel) and "I didn't picture the crowd naked."

Alison commented on how the club's many round-backed booths made it look like a dinner theatre. Scott replied that during the set, one band member was going to get killed, then the audience would have to guess who the killer was. This and other between-songs banter got great response from the crowd as did the music. Although there were only about 4 listers in attendance that Dennis or I could account for, many in the crowd were very familiar with Scott's work, singing along and easily getting the lyric alterations and inside jokes.

This having been the first time seeing them, I was very impressed that they reproduced some of the more studio-intensive songs with such clarity, especially DfD's untitled songlets. Again, Gil is a FANTASTIC drummer and it was pure pleasure watching him work. Alison was poppy and upbeat throughout and did a great job on backing vox. The club did have Kenny's bass levels too quiet (something that Russell Keegstra noted in an earlier post), but still played excellently. And Scott was just flippin'-incredible with intensity, great guitar work and an excellent stage presence. Scott is always humble, but you could tell that he really appreciated the crowd's loud approval after each of the songs. It must feel good for him to realize that, yes, there are some people out there who "get it."

The moment that killed me though was the My Bloody Valentine cover. Wow... I mean... W-O-W... what can I say... I refused to read the spoiler setlists from earlier shows, but I figured there would be an off-base cover (much along the lines of the "Debaser" cover during their last tour I heard so much about). But playing MBV was just over the top for me. The two primary lines of musical genres I have lost myself in over the past decade--shoegazers and power poppers--converged in one brilliant, serendipitous moment. When I realized what they were playing (and after I picked my jaw up off the table), I determined that I could die that night and my life of artistic admiration would have been complete. Everything was unified, all was in harmony, every planet lined up with Hale-Bopp comet and the Mothership, and, finally, my songwriting idol was playing the song of my guitar idol (Kevin Shields). I half expected to see Christ walk in the door and say, "Hey Jon, it's time." In other words, I really, really liked it.

For the two encore numbers, the crowd requested "Take Me Down (To Halloo)" which Scott didn't quite remember the words to, and then "Don't Respond, She Can Tell," which was, again, BRILLIANT.

I spoke to Scott again afterwards and, although he seemed to be tired from the long tour, answered some musical questions, chatted a lot, and thanked me yet again for the roadtape (such a polite guy!). Then I stumbled into my car, tuned my radio to the classical station, and quietly enjoyed the ringing in my ears the whole way home.

My only question is when are they coming again?!

Way too longwinded...
Jon

Back to the diary index.