Wading in the Velvet Sea

Here are five thoughts after seeing tonight’s Wolfmother show at the Avalon on Landsdowne Street, while listening to their album on iTunes…

1) I hadn’t been to a rock show in a while. Last time I went to one, I saw Sloan at TT the Bear’s. Not the best sound mix in the world, and the lead guitarist (who looked like Styx's Tommy Shaw) kept giving The Girl “come do me in the van after the show” eyes. Not the best show I’d ever seen. Felt good to be back at an ear-splitting rock show again. Tonight was far superior in just about every conceivable way.

2) I’m old. Not like I need to point that out, but standing in a see of people with nary a hair in their special places sure rammed it home. Also ramming it home: watching a select few mosh and thinking, “What young knaves”, thinking at least four times, “Boy, I could do with a couch, my feet are killing me”, and the fact that the bouncer didn’t even bother to check my ID when I went into the club. Just slapped a bracelet on my wrist and sent me on my way Moreover, the security guard frisked my friend Nick, but not me. So I’m old AND a non-threat to society. Just brilliant. I'd shake my head in shame, but it's too sore from all the head-banging.

3) Here’s a break down of the setlist they played:

• “Kick-Ass Rock Song”
• “Even More Kick Ass Song”
• “My God, These Guys Are Melting My Face Off”
• “I May Have Gone Gay For the Lead Singer/Guitarist During That Last Solo”
• “You And Me”, a cover of Lifehouse’s big hit (OK, not really)
• “I’m Pretty Sure That Chord Change Came Down From Heaven To Make My Nipples Hard”

4) Weird thing about all the MySpacers there in the crowd: very few seemed to be interested in directly looking at the stage. They were too busy taking digital photos, texted their friends on their cellphones, or crowdsurfing directly into a security guard who immediately whisked them out of the building. All about transmitting the experience elsewhere or for later enjoyment, instead of just being in the moment. Me? I was fascinated by what was going on onstage. Not simply because I’m a former techie who’s into lighting rigs when I attend concerts and plays, but for the band itself. The lead singer has the biggest afro I’ve ever seen on a Caucasian. The bass player looks like Rufus Sewell. The drummer looks like…well, like every drummer in every rock band you’ve every seen.

5) Watching these guys blow my mind song after song (as well as blowing my eardrums song by song), I knew these guys who could never make it big in the States, even as I was massively enjoying myself. Riff after riff just sounded right: right in that way that you’re sure you heard them in another song you once liked, or if not, it SHOULD have been in a song you used to like. Nick summed them up well: Deep Purple and Grand Funk Railroad, with some White Stripes and some Sabbath, all thrown into a blender and having anything bad removed as it’s poured into your ears. OK, the blender metaphor was my literary license, but the bands were his. It’s full-throttle rock with insanely deep low-end groove (the bass went through my thighs, which probably explains my femur pain as I write this) that passes through kitsch directly into unadulterated fun, unrelenting rock, exhilarating music. Avalon PULSED tonight, and feeling that communal energy coming from these three guys expertly working their stop/start dynamic, chord changes, and onstage chemistry to provide one of the most fun hours I’ve had all year.

But yea, I’m gonna so pay for this in the morning. But that’s OK. The Patriots trade for Randy Moss, the Sox beat the Yanks, and Wolfmother rocked my socks off. Pretty good Sunday, if you ask me.