BrightestYoungThings: LiveDC: Thee oh Sees/Golden Triangle @ The Cat

all beautiful photos: Shauna Alexander
all words: Andrew Bucket

It was chilly. I really felt like I should have worn a jacket but I didn't have one because my stuff is in storage (and my favorite cardigan is currently being held prisoner by a librarian). I went anyway to the Gato Negro to see Golden Triangle and ultimately Thee Oh Sees. On the way to the show I listened to the Pounding Serfs station on a new app called Slacker radio-- I got the app only because the word slacker appeals to my demographic, but turns out that the app is stupid.

The Gato Negro was a regular 5-year high school reunion of area musicians. I don't name names, but if the people in the crowd at this show were to make a tribute song for Jean Benet, it would be downloaded by every sticky perv. in Falls Church.

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Golden Triangle had JUST started when I arrived. I told the doorman "please sir, stamp me. I am here for the show." He said "you must pay the fee!" I said "but sir, I am a journalist!" and he said "tell me your name!" and I said "Dr. Andrew Bucket" and he said "let me check my list" which he then did with much scrutiny before finally finding my name scrawled in magenta eye pencil.

Once inside I was lured to the stage by a murderous, Lord of the Flies sort of rhythm, punctuated by two tamborines and threaded by whistfully high pitched "oooooohs." It was enticing and beachy. It was a little psychedelic at times. A boy in front wearing platform Chucks was dancing like it was 1967 and Owsley lived rent free in his sun-room. I found out later this boy was with the group.

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Golden Triangle are a fine band. I think they use too many pedals for their kind of rock and roll. Also, and I dont know if this is out of line, but I wish they were ugly. Something about them was all too familiarly snobby. I could feel a post-show-snub coming. It was probably just me. I mean, I was wearing baggy brown pants and Chucks with a black t shirt (with the neck cut out!) I probably looked like such a dumbass to them--such a drunk, sweaty, unfashionable, unshaven, poor, sleep deprived, oblivious, stupid, fist-pumping dumbass. I mean what a lame-o right? (in their defense, they did sing Roxy Music with me, but I think it was Chad America's double vodka explosions that inspired it-if -you-get-my-mid-drift)

The other thing about Golden Triangle: I dont remember any of their songs. This is a recurring issue for me with new bands. Today is the day I'm supposed to desperately dig my claws into the google-plex to find that song I loved so much last night. WHERE IS THAT SONG!? Not even a hook. I can't recall how even one song goes. I quote Dr Steven Malkmus from his treatise on seeing image obsessed bands "I don't remember a line, I don't remember a word." I'm not saying that GT are image obsessed. This is just a larger longing I have for bands that put their lyrics out there for everyone to see, and for those lyrics to be cool! Golden Triangle are good. They need some grit though. Exodus from brooklyn!

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Okay, so Thee Oh Sees were pretty awesome. The show got deep into their repertoire and explored their weirder side. Had some disjointed, tweaked out jams half way through, but mostly it was two step beats the whole way. This was not really a beer sloshing set but within the first twenty seconds somebody exploded a beer all over John Dwyer. Before the second song he goes "this next one is dedicated to the grandmother of whoever threw that beer on me... was it you? Do you have a grandmother? Well this is for her." He then basically felated the microphone while singing and playing his twelve string electric all the way up to his chin like an AK47.

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OH! He has his own vocal rig. It's perma. set on echo-dome. I was thinking about it and I think I like reverb mic better than echo mic. Unless it's this kind of thing.

So then I did some chatting, did a little dancing to a little Velvet on the jukebox, did a little stop-by-the-velvet-lounge, and then did a little bike-ride home to a little Lou Reed Pandora station, which is for now the superior music app. No one was awake when I got home, so I made a burrito. For the burrito I used a combo of chorizo and frijoles negros that I made yesterday. The trick is to boil the chorizo for like 10 minutes, then use the chorizo water to boil your beans. Then cut the chorizo skins off and break up the meat inside. Then mix it with your strained beans and mash it all together with lime juice and cilantro. I don't use onions because onions are actually the preferred vegetable of racists.

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