Two nights of great local, indie, original music in Hoboken
Ivy of ArtKore.org has done it again bringing together the areas brightest for two nights of fun and frolic … oh yeah … and music.
Night #1 (July 27, 2005)
The first night saw chill performances to a packed room at The Goldhawk by the normally heavy and always satisfying Downshallow and Crewman Number Six. I still really love seeing bands shift gears, tone it down and let their songs float on a different plane.
A few years ago I let myself dive into the deep end of the world of lower volumes and acoustic guitars. It is a nerve-racking, adrenalin-pumping way to kick any lazy ass out from behind the protective shield of noise and distortion.
New to me this night were Fly Me Courageous and The Finals. Both of whom I enjoyed very much. A very touching moment came when the singer of FMC toasted a heartfelt tribute to his late dad. A few of us were struck with guilt when for a brief moment we assumed he was joking. It quickly became clear that he was not.
The night ended with a bunch of us sitting around, laughing and getting silly. For some strange reason we all started using the dialog and timbre of Thirties/Forties movies. Specifically comedies such as Abbott and Costello. Everyone became “Swamy” since there was always some eastern-mystic, fortune-teller type dude who was the voice of reason, but then turned out to be evil.
At one point I made the comment that the core of the Hoboken music scene is here, in the Goldhawk laughing and acting like irrational, immature school kids (only with more booze). Which is what I loved about it.
Night #2 (July 28, 2005)
The second night was a louder affair held at the Whiskey Bar. Although it started out more mellow with the exotic percussion and dance of Kukurudu followed by the song stylings of End of October. Then came the volume in the form of Supa Friends, a make shift super group backed by High Speed Chase. One by one, members of Crewman Number Six and eugene joined in the fray.
At its climax, this stage-filled shindig looked familiar to those who had seen any of these bands before as such an event often took place. Just usually not this organic in development or as comic-book hero in intensity.
Though I think they were hoping for a more obscure concoction to come of all this mixing about of styles, it felt more like High Speed Chase versions of songs with different voices. Not that it was a bad thing. It was a total blast.
Following this came the chillingly subtle drama of Motel Creeps and finally Pale Horse who I had never seen before. They rocked heavy and solid. A fine way to end the night. That is until it looked as though the bar had tried to stiff the bands.
Despite the packed joint, the money that was handed over was an insulting one-fifth of what is should have been. Some of us wound up drinking afterwards where we seethed and simmered on this fact. Thankfully Gibby of High Speed Chase was able to get in touch with the bar’s management shortly after to make things right.
