Warning: this post is not really a show review. I just want to make that clear at the outset. If you want to know the experience of seeing No Age show at Red 7 on 1/11/11 down to the last detail, perhaps you should have been there (sorry, but you know it’s true).
If I seem opposed to the idea of writing an actual show review, well, I am. Why? Because my first attempt at starting a ‘show review’ music blog was a miserable failure. I quickly got burned out on the overwhelming task of writing lengthy reviews of every show I went to, complete with set lists, band histories, and between-song dialog. It was just too involved for someone like me, with a full-time job and just wanting to blog for fun. Now, two years later, I’ve decided to just write about random things I felt like sharing as long as it was also about music.
Now that your expectations are sufficiently low, here goes… No Age was originally scheduled to play outside at the Mohawk, but due to bad weather, the show was moved to inside at Red 7. Despite some rather serious sound problems sustained during the first 20-25 minutes of the show, No Age was everything I had anticipated and more. I fell pretty hard for No Age when I heard their song, “Teen Creeps” off their album, Nouns, released on Sub Pop in 2008. Despite being smitten with No Age prior to this show, I had never had the chance to see them live before. I either did not know or had forgotten that lead singer, Dean Allen Spunt, was also the drummer. Umm, so drumming is difficult (it was too hard for me). Drumming whilst singing is exigent. Needless to say, I was more than impressed with this effort.
Generally, I am not a big fan of overly categorizing music. I would call most of the music I love…simply, rock (‘n roll). However, since that term covers a great deal of ground, I have to admit that some sub-genres can be mildly helpful. Through fusion of thoughtful, well-crafted lyrics/music and a brutally intense live show, No Age fits snuggly into the space between indie (more specifically, shoe gaze and noise pop) and punk subcategories of “rock” in the best possible way. I thought there was no way No Age could meet my expectations, but I am so glad I was wrong. The overall experience was worth the bruises I sustained in order to get these photos!
Post-show Notes to Self:
1.) beware of standing next to dudes with X’s on their hands near the front of the stage at a punk show…they likely just came to mosh or get in a fight…whichever happens first.
2.) taking photos from my phone is infinitely harder when in the middle of a mosh pit…sending coherent text messages is basically impossible.
3.) mosh pits are essentially public, not entirely sexual, displays of physical aggression by mostly straight dudes who think it is still 1995.
Overall Show Rating: **** (Date-worthy)
The Rating Scale:
_ Not Interested
* One Night Stand
** Friends With Benefits
*** Casual/It’s Complicated
**** Date-worthy
***** Long-term Relationship
~Sonic *Snogger*
