Cheap Time are pretty swell (their self-titled debut made #20 on my most recent Best Albums of 2008 list) and when I realized that due to prior commitments (Brian Wilson Friday, Baroness Saturday) I wouldn't be able to catch any of their other area shows this weekend, my interest was piqued. And with this show being just a few blocks from my humble abode, I couldn't think of any reason not to head out to this.
Loaded up the one-hitter, bundled up (it's frickin' cold out, son) and headed out towards Wythe, where Ash's Place is located. As I had suspected, it's a smallish loft-type space, kind of reminiscent of a much tinier old-school Glasslands. Apparently it's a Todd P venue, and he was in the house regulatin' as usual. Admission was six bucks, and it was comforting to see so much of the crowd of 60 or so smoking weed. Good times.
I'm gonna try to get through this quickly, so here's the rundown of the openers.
- White Diamonds -- I walked in halfway through their set. Noisy, but not really unpleasantly so. Processed vocals, sound effects, distorted bass/keyboards. The band's two vocalists were crouched down on the stage manipulating pedals and whatnot for the duration of the set. Very amateurish, sure, but they seemed like they were having fun.
- Jacques Detergent -- Four piece, although the guitar was totally inaudible. Kinda quirky garage pop/punk led by a superloud bass and oddball synth. Distorted vocals. More song-oriented than White Diamonds. Had some legit ass-shakers in their repertoire, which was nice.
- The Beets -- Probably one of the worst bands I've ever seen, but how can you not root for a trio of drunk, possibly retarded twelve year olds. Seriously, my left tit probably outweighed the whole fucking band. The music was horrible, just generic garagey crap with the tone-deaf/grating/whiny vocals you've all come to know and hate from countless crappy NYC opening acts. More of the same, and in heaping portions. These guys would have gotten tiresome really quickly if they hadn't constantly sabotaged themselves with equipment malfunctions, broken guitar strings and straps, all the while inexplicably abandoning songs while in progress. It's so rare that hipster crowds show any emotion at all, let alone joyously reveling in schadenfreude, but there were sarcastic catcalls of "you guys are awesome!" and flat-out uproarious laughter throughout the crowd. I can't remember the last time that I've seen so many blank stares changed over to "what the fuck is this shit?!" rubbernecking within the course of just a few songs. I'll definitely be seeing these guys again just so I can confirm that they are, in fact, this hilariously terrible. Kudos boys!
Cheap Time was up next. I last caught them opening for fellow Nashviller Jay Reatard at Bowery in April, and although they're far from "polished" or "slick" it was nice to hear a group that could actually play their own songs -- and play them well at that -- after the evening's previous bands. For those unfamiliar with Cheap Time's sound, they're similar to the esteemed Mr. Reatard, meaning lo-fi, garagey and fast, but with a more street-hardened '70s NYC punk vibe. They roared through their set with demented fervor, rocking so hard that at one point a mini mosh pit opened up briefly. Fuckin' cool. The set drew heavily on songs from their eponymous debut, including thrifty barn-burners like "Glitter and Gold," "Zig Zag," "People Talk," "Trip to the Zoo" and "Back to School." Fun, fun shit.
Alas, my two herniated discs were fucking killing me by this point so I stumbled back out into the cold and headed towards home, missing headliner caUSE co-MOTION's set. I've already seen these guys a few times this year, with accounts here and here if you're really wondering what they sound like.
So if you're not busy, check out Cheap Time at Less Artists More Condos (132 W. 3rd St., NYC) tonight (Friday) or at Asterisk* Art Space (258 Johnson Ave., Brooklyn NY) tomorrow (Saturday). Fun shall be had.
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Okay, I'm working on a bunch of year-end lists, including a Top 100 Songs of 2008 list, a list with all the albums I've heard in '08, another list with all the shows I saw in '08, and, as usual, a top 10 list of the biggest assholes I encountered at shows this year. I'm going to try to keep updating regularly also, so until tomorrow, Tuddd out.
