Looking back on “Villains at Club Rub”

I mentioned about a month ago I was really looking forward to this show. If nothing else it was a learning experience. I did not get to see all of the show as “Daddy Duty” called. But I did talk to congenial Venue owner Rubber Le Salle and get her feed back on the part of the show I missed.

POL Arida opened the show, and his set was a-freaking-mazing. Any set with “Mother of three” in it rates high with this hard-core fan boy. I love that song. But more important then POL set was the understanding I received from it.

POL’s’ set left a crater, that is the nature of his music. It works on a massive scale and every scenario is played out with great drama. Even the quite and subdued songs have an operatic tension that is palpable. I don’t know many musicians that could pull off a song like “The belief of”, but POL sells it and the listener buys it.

POL’s shows make an impact. His fans are more like disciples sitting at the master’s feet. While it may seem as if I’m over stating this, I’m one of those Fans/Disciples.

POL’s show makes a crater; my show fills in the crater.

While that may seem like a bad thing it’s not. POL is precise and well thought out, and I’m sloppy and emotional. My music works on a smaller more personal scale. Even if you don’t understand my song… it seems to make sense.

While both our shows seem to stand well on their own, they work very well in tandem. They seem to fit. I sometimes feel we are heading to the same artistic destination taking different routes.

Of course you could point out all this is anecdotal speculation. However the tips at “The Villains” show were highest when POL and I played. The venue also hit max capacity during both shows.

“The Rails” Played after my set. They suffered about 30 minuets of technical problems before they got the stream up. Good news, the audience didn’t bail on the show. Once they got streaming, things were a little rough, and I got a few IM’s saying “These guys suck”. But that was not a fair judgment. I know trying to fix technical problems ratchets up the stress level and I’m sure once they got the stream going, they had to settle down a bit, but didn’t really have time to sit back and enjoy the accomplishment of getting their technical problems hammered out. They had to start playing… now.

By the third song they seemed to have found their groove and were carrying on well enough. Of course they were basically out of time and I had to leave. I’m impression of “The rails” is kind of mixed. I don’t think they suck. They just have a sound I would have to listen to for a full set before I got a real feel for it. It’s quirky for sure. Different and as a rule I’m a fan of different. I hope to catch them again sometime.
Grateful Stryker and Norris Shepard both complained that while the show was well attended they got shit for tips. Both artists normally charge a fee, and that might have affected their feelings about the show. I’ve never heard Grateful Stryker, but I have seen Norris once. I honestly don’t understand Norris’s appeal. The fact he has the nerve to charge a fee seems a bit out of line to me. He’s not bad… he’s just nothing special. Perhaps I should list him with the “Popular Kids”.

But in spite of petty quibbling about tips, the show was well attended, and when all is said and done, isn’t that what it’s all about? For some people… no. For me… yes.

Seems a quality line up will draw a sizable crowd, just as I speculated.