On my neverending quest to see at least one show by every worthy band in the world, October 11th's entry was from !!!. Having basically no exposure to their catalog (save the occasional random compilation track), I basically went into this hoping for a less-gay version of the Rapture. I had read earlier in the day about one of the vocalists departing !!! so he could focus on his other group, Free Blood, who are fucking amazing (saw 'em in January at Knitting Factory opening up for Gil Mantera's Party Dream). Basically, knowing what Free Blood sound like -- think goofy white kids getting other goofy white kids to shake their asses -- I had to like the chances of !!! at least being danceable and fun.
Shitty weather all day led to delays on the LIRR, so I wound up not getting to Union Square until after 9 PM, where I met my friend Cynthia. We got some cheap beers at the dank, fratty Bar None on Third Ave., then walked over to 15th Street to puff a l'il dank of our own (t'heh! A homonym!) around the l'il park dealie which is down there.
Got inside Webster Hall about halfway through The Field (some dude with a laptop)'s set, which consisted of groove-heavy trance with plenty of bass. After a few beers and some weed, I'm pretty easy to please musically but this really, really hit the mark. As Cynthia remarked, it's pretty doubtful that this set would have been as great had we not been fucked up, but so fucking what, it was fantastic.
!!! took the stage at about quarter past 11, and right off the bat I was really digging their style: goofy white kids getting other goofy white kids to dance indeed. The first two songs were based around strong grooves and rock-solid bass thumpin', which had me moving around as much as a cripple can. And, again, I was fucked up, but the percussive vocals (perilously bordering on -- but fortunately avoiding -- the pitfalls of white-guy rap) augmented the two drumkit setup nicely.
After the first couple of songs, however, the music got shittier which unfortunately coincided with me realizing what an unforgivable douchebag the frontman is. Musically, shit devolved into slower tempo stuff and boring drum patterns (bass was totally MIA), occasionally with super-generic black-chick-R&B vocals hollering over the top. Soulless quasi-eclecticism is not my cup of tea. But, yeah, back to the frontman. When I meet arrogant, braggodocio-filled schmucks in my personal life, my initial reaction is to threaten 'em with forced anal penetration on the grounds that "you look like you need to be taken down a couple of notches, Mr. Tough Guy." When I see them onstage, my usual reaction is to just walk out. Homeboy went into a rap about how !!! are "the best live band in the world," which... I mean, there are so many things wrong with that sentence I'm not going to bother.
But fortunately the guy shut the fuck up after awhile, and just when all seemed lost the band locked into an amazing groove towards the end of the show. Long story short, I enjoyed probably about 30-40% of the set. So, yeah, glad I saw these guys live but it's doubtful I'd be back for a return performance. (Sign me up for the next umpteen Free Blood shows, though.)
