Kansas City Music Blog

Dateline: Wednesday, January 7, 2009

I think about what it feels like to play music, something you wrote and to have to live with. This usually occurs to me after I've seen some band that's had to carry on for years, and must have found some sense of regeneration to keep at the same choruses over and over. Sometimes, I get it. I get why Keith Richards can still look like he's having fun after so many years, because he gets to play the opening chords of "Tumbling Dice" every night.

After seeing these four bands at the Riot Room Wednesday night, I wondered, did they enjoy playing this stuff? Did they enjoy writing it? Could they still if they got lucky and became big stars and had to play their early hits 10 years later? It was the kind of show where you go to the bar to get a drink, and you wait for your beer and talk to your friend, and then when the bottle finally comes you look up and realize, '"Oh, shit. That's still going on."

Hail Archer photo by Peter Rugg

There isn't a good reason for me to critique these bands one at a time, because I had the same problem with every one. Not a one seemed to care about selling their shit to the audience. No one seemed to be working that hard. The chops and the stage presence improved from one band to the next, but the only real difference was that Haedon Aeon (couldn't find a link) was maybe 20 percent more Hoobastank-inpired than the rest.

I kept hoping the next set would do something. I felt bad being there, because I knew what I was going to have to write and a lot of these guys are local and maybe haven't been together too long. Maybe in another year things will be different. It happens.

The thing about that is, even if they do improve and there's no reason they can't, I probably won't care. I could easily see some of them popping up on 96.5 the Buzz in between Death Cab for Cutie songs. Maybe it's just me. These bands are just the latest in a series that's been popular for what seems like a long time now - bands that appear to be under the impression that the '80s is a decade worth repeating. At least two played electronic riffs in the background that sounded like the music you'd hear on an old Nintendo game. Is it meant ironically? I'm only 27, but I see these guys and I feel 90.

Shit. I know it must be tough when you play a club and the audience is little more than the other bands and their girlfriends and your roadies. And they're just standing around, not moving. But then I get pissed off, because I feel like you expect me to do all the work while you play rock star. Like there's some expectation that they're on stage and I'm in the crowd, so I should just play my assigned role of having fun and they can feel good. Fuck that. I'm don't want to have to invest in you if you don't want to make me pay attention. I don't have time. I want to be smashed to pieces.

So maybe we should just leave it at this. If you see that these bands are playing somewhere, assume I'm right. If I'm not, you can be pleasantly surprised.

-- Peter Rugg

Critics Notebook
Personal bias: I love the Riot Room. Don't let things like this keep you from going there. They need good people, and nine out of ten shows I've seen there have been a lot of fun.
Random detail: The Turn On (couldn't find a link for these guys, either) isn't really included in this review, because they spent their time sitting on the floor in front of the stage, playing Led Zeppelin covers among other tunes I didn't recognize. This was before some of the bands had arrived. I liked those guys.
By the way: Some people love Hail Archer. In AP Magazine's June issue they listed the group as one of the top 8 unsigned bands of the month. Maybe you'd be one of those people.