Relief! Rock-n-Roll!
It's always hard for me to come back from time off. I had three days off with the family last week. Even though I came back to work for two days, I hadn't yet really gotten into the groove. Then yesterday ended up being a stormy washout, and I'll admit it had me feeling a little sluggish. The idea of heading up to the City alone for a Monday night show just started to seem less appealing as the day progressed.
After making the kids their dinner and swigging a cup of coffee, though, I sucked it up and headed out. There was absolutely no traffic, and I basically flew into New York. Things were looking good. I got to (le) poisson rouge with about thirty minutes to spare, met some really great people, had a beer, and started to feel like I was good to go.
The Black Rock Coalition presented the show along with (le) poisson rouge. Militia of Swear on Your Life and Judas Priestess acted as the evening's emcee. She brought The Everymen to the stage at just about 8 o'clock. New Jersey state flags draped the amplifiers on either side of the stage, and the band had added a trumpet player.
I've seen The Everymen's set several times over the last few months. There's this amazing thing that happens every time. Whether they're playing to a crowd of indie rock kids in Brooklyn, at a cold Sunday night show in Hoboken, at the normally dance-free zone of The Saint, or towards the end of a 12-hour marathon, they get the crowd dancing like crazy. It starts at different times. Last night it seriously got started during their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Ain't Good Enough for You," Mike V leaning over the edge of the stage to share the mic with a particularly enthusiastic fan.
After that warm-up (which is an understatement given the almost non-existent air conditioning at the venue), Philadelphia's Purling Hiss took the stage right on time at 9. The power trio is led by guitarist Mike Polizze; and they turned in a blistering performance, alternating between the heavy rock ("Lolita") and indie pop ("Mercury Retrograde") featured on the excellent Water on Mars.
At this point, I was a sweaty mess even after not having done much but my usual head-bobbing. Unsatisfied with most of the pictures I was getting (The Everymen usually put out way more kinetic energy than my little point and shoot can handle as it is), I moved front and center against the stage for Death's set.
Militia came back out and introduced the Detroit trio of Bobby Hackney (bass), Dannis Hackney (drums), and Bobbie Duncan (guitar) noting that, "Before there was a word for it..." Death were "punk pioneers." The band immediately lit into "Knockin' on the Door" from the rediscovered ...for the Whole World to See. All of the tracks from that record got huge reactions from the crowd. The biggest, wildest reactions, though, came for "Freakin' Out" and "Politicians In My Eyes."
During "Freakin' Out," the surge of the crowd behind me repeatedly thrust me against the stage. Stage-divers (many of whom probably should've made sure that someone was going to catch them), including Militia, started flying overhead. The whole crowd was a pulsing, sweaty mass. What must've been a whole pint of beer washed over all of us up front. It was fantastic.
At a few points during the set, a chant of "Death! Death! Death!" erupted from the crowd. It really was amazing to hear, given that the band's music had been shelved for almost forty years because record companies couldn't get past the name.
Bobby Hackney announced that Death had recorded a new album, and the band played two of those songs last night: "Playtime" and, as an encore, upcoming single "Relief" with its chorus of "Relief! Relief! Relief! Rock 'n Roll!" I don't think Death could've come up with anything else that better summed up my evening.
I got out to the street and stopped to take a breather in the relatively cool air. A man selling roses started to give me his pitch. I told him I didn't need a rose, but I gave him a buck anyway. "Why are you so sweaty, man? You been drinking?"
"No," I said. "Rock and roll."
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