5:33 p.m. - 2005-10-27
because the thing is
because the thing is, Western and Fullerton look pretty much the same if you're not familiar with the area. Although, now that I think about it Western has the big elevated train platform, and I don't remember seeing one on Fullerton.
So we eventually got to the Hideout, where Milo Jones was playing. Technically, I'm not cool enough to be in there, but being Milo's roadie granted me entrance, along with many more perqs. It seemed like a typical Chicago-style bar, with the Old Style sign and the room in back through the double doors where mobsters used to plan crime. Milo made with the meeting and greeting and I set up the merch table, well actually Milo set it up but AFTER he set it up I watched everything. Then came the sound check, but I felt cheated because there wasn't an actual drumset being used by any of the bands, only a sort-of-drumset with just one mic so I didn't get to hear a whole big drum check. Also, the sound man plays with the Dirty Three, a band I know nothing about but feel like I should now on accounta it made Milo seem kind of star-struck.
Eventually the show started. A young woman with dark hair played guitar and did kind of menacing vocals and used effects and loops and what not. Milo played a totally different kind of set, marred for me only by a song full of whistling. (Whistling: meh.) Then a young duo of keys and guitar, also with tons of effects. Their set was pretty short and consisted of only two tunes, both of which pretty must consisted of throbbing, looped effects and Sonic Youth guitar noise. LOUD effects. LOUD Sonic Youth guitar noise. It got loud and stayed loud for what seemed like a really long time. I got the urge to walk up to the lip of the stage and rant: "You think you can make me deaf? You think you got what it takes? With your hitting-the-guitar-with-a-stick feedback and your retro-nerd clothes that, combined with being in Chicago, remind me of that movie Ghost World? HAH! My ears have been through worse than you! I've had my head in front of Monet trumpets! I've played the xylophone for hours on end and soaked up the worst that Electro-Scandinavian Euro-improvisors can dish out! And YOU think YOU can deafen ME?! AMATEURS!" Other than the attempted deafening, though, I kind of liked them.
Then the last band was a quartet led by the woman who had played first, with the dark hair. She did the same type of stuff as in her first set, but augmented by her band, all of whom played stringed instruments with pick-ups, effects, feedback, etc. It sounded kind of like witches playing Harry Partch. I enjoyed them, but found variety lacking within their songs.
Milo sold five cds in all and no t-shirts. This led to much introspection on the ride home.
