Good-bye Rooster; Hello Hijackers

Last Thursday in the Palace, Rooster Sauce gave their last performance. Everyone said farewell to Chris, the Count, as he prepared to move to Arizona. 

See you on down the road, Chris.

As Rooster Sauce was tearing down, I wandered upstairs, and encountered two friends in the hallway.

Being a fan of live music, I don't fully understand how a DJ Dance can be the hottest event in Zootown week after week, but consistently the Dead Hipsters have produced just that on Thursday nights in the Badlander.

Everyone should know this guy by now. Travis Yost drums with Tom Catmull and the Clerics, longtime Zootown favorites. Now he's moved up front with a guitar, surrounded himself with three beautiful women and named this shindig the New Hijackers. This night, they followed Rooster Sauce to cap the evening.

More from this evening can be found on my flickr archive. Travis has been a favorite subject for a while and can be seen in the sets of Tom Catmull and the Clerics.


Flickr 

Denying Dinosaurs at Badlander

An evening wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Badlander, where I checked-in on the early punk show. Later, in the evening, I made it a point to get back for Deny the Dinosaur, a trio with more sound than you can believe. They opened the Dead Hipsters' show at Dauphine's the previous week, and I arrived too late, hearing only half their last song. Friday, I made up for that by arriving early to witness the whole set. J.J. says, "Dyno-mite!"

It is time to throw music labels out the window. I remember when "alternative music" was really alternative, before it became just another marketing label. Some local music falls in the guidelines of metal, country, rock and more cross-pollinated strains(i.e. surf-punk and dub-funk). They are all being transformed by Missoula bands into trend-setting, cutting-edge genres. The old pagan comes out shouting, "Thank the powers that be and all the spirits of place for the creative energy here."

It's time to throw your damn television out, too. You don't need to go out and buy the latest giganta-screen, either. You need to get off your ass, get out of the house and see some live music. I respectfully refer to John Prine, who said, "Blow up your TV, throw away the paper, move to the country, build yourself a home, plant a little garden, eat a lot of peaches, try and find Jesus on your own."

Dauphine's Makes the Scene

Shelby Cunliffe



Saucy Yodaa

Olbio Duo

The old Raven has resurrected as Dauphine's, and they have made the scene big time. The Dead Hipsters produced a terrific show there, recently, featuring Good Neighbor Policy. Hear that band, if you can, before they leave for Bellingham. Lead man, Thomas Pendarvis, is leaving Dauphine's and taking the band with him, very soon. Another, tight, local band the Victory Smokes also played that night.

Last Friday produced another strong show. A band so new as to be nameless opened, followed by Shelby Cunliffe. Where has this chanteuse been hiding? Her raw, smoky voice was perfect for the smoky emotions of her original material. A lot of original, song-writing women, in Missoula, are not getting their due. Amy Martin is another, who comes quickly to mind, and Andrea Harsell is all over this town. After Shelby, the Mythological Horses, from Portland, horsed around. Saucy Yodaa opened their performance with three raps.

Stein was up next, reminding me a bit of They Might be Giants, with funky, home-grown lyrics. They introduced the final band, Olbio Duo. Their exaggerated, southern eccentricities seemed over-rehearsed at times, but they knew their way around their instruments and performed more than competently. They came from Denver for this gig.

Getting friendly with Dead Hipsters at the Badlander

Good Neighbor Policy proved they are more than just a rock band with a cello, as they played during the Friend x 3 Fest at the Badlander, without the cello, delivering a crisp set. Thomas Pendarvis showed his usual dashing style up front.

The only disappointment was the lack of listeners. Dead Hipster put together 24 bands, at the Badlander, for three nights of diverse, lively sounds and few showed to enjoy it. Local favorites alternated with bands from around the country in an event dedicated to friendship. What more could anyone want?


Here's Cale, playing with Apples of Discord, on Thursday.
And below, he plays with the hermans, on Saturday.


Does anybody call this fellow anything other than "the count?" And can he be mentioned without adding that he played with the International Playboys? I don't know the answer to the first, but the latter is answered with a no. For some reason the IP are stuck in the consciousness of local music fans. Given enough time, the hermans will overshadow IP and become a legend on their own.




Amanda was looking very stylish with a hat, as she played bass with Wolf Redboy on Friday of the Friends Fest. I suspect the highlight for her, however, came on the first night, when she was delighted to have her picture taken with the Oscar-winning song writers from the movie Once. They had performed as the Swell Season earlier in the evening, at the Wilma.

Glen Hansard, on the left, had some knowledge of cameras and an interest in photography. He had noticed my shooting without a flash earlier in the evening and asked what kind of results I was after.

I used the flash, bouncing it off the ceiling for this of him, his partner and Amanda.


A quick summary: three days of exciting music and few to appreciate it. My advice: quit watching American Idol. Get out and see some live and local music.