Truck Nutz!

Yeah, them's truck nutz. Extra large, silver. Stay classy, Oakland.

That totem seems like it creates a good segue to some thoughts about a show I saw on Thursday night. And by show, I mean "rock show". I went with JFB to see Shellac and Arcwelder at the Great American Music Hall. I think I have seen Shellac 4 times and at least three of those shows were with James. Its likely grounded in our history: we met when I made fun of his Big Black t-shirt. Boy, I must have thought I was cute. Anyway, it was a really fun time for a number of reasons, and Shellac isn't really in the top five.

1. It started "early", i.e. 9:00 p.m. That's when Arcwelder started. They played well and enthusiastically for an hour, and Shellac was on by 10:30. This is veritable warp speed in the indie rock scene. I was driving home by midnight. Unprecedented show efficiency.

2. The reason it started early is because we are all getting old. I haven't been to see a band play in 3 years, but one reason I avoid it is because the rest of the crowd is usually so young. But this crowd was just as old as I am, and older. The guys were in their 30s and 40s when I was in my early twenties are now in their 40s and 50s, and they were there, making me feel young. Another benefit of this aging together is that Arcwelder in particular has morphed from a group of young guys out on tour to a group of guys in their 30s/40s whose kids are old enough that their wives said, "sure, you can play two shows in San Francisco," and they took a week off work to go re-live their glory days.

3. That's why the bands seemed more admirable than they were 15 years ago. The appreciated the audience, played their best, and had a great time. It was infectious. I liked Arcwelder more than I had remembered, and slightly more than Shellac. More on that.

4. The show was such a sausage party (that means all guys, MIL) that there was no line for the women's bathroom. That's never happened in my life. It was a cause of much hilarity in the women's bathroom that the men's room line had 20 guys on it. Women said things like, "I wish I were single!" and "I've never seen this many straight guys in the Bay Area in one place!"

5. It's always fun to hang out with James, even if its too loud to even think, much less talk.

As for Shellac, they remain the same. Unbelievably tight, intricate, loud, angry rock. They barely look like they've aged a day, but they looked sort of haggard 15 years ago. They don't look worse, and they still put on a great show. Albini goes in too much for the Word Jazz, though, and sometimes I just thought, "shut up and play."

Another downside, I still haven't shook the standard "show back/leg/knees" that sets in near the end of the opening band. You know, that pain that results from standing, back and knees locked, head and foot bobbing, for 3-4 hours. It's making me hesitant to see another band in the next 3 years. On the other hand, Sonic Youth is playing in Oakland soon, and I'd like to see them before I die, so who knows. . . .