Well, folks, much like many of you, I’ve been swept away by the current that is the new semester. Now that I am safely riding the waves of college studentdom, I have photos to show you.
As usual, I could be found at the Mill waiting for a show to start, only now that I have taken up residence within walking distance I now do it with a drink in my hand.
Shane Morlan opened up the show – and all I can say is if you like songs about, oh say, hitting women – this is the dude for you. I am a female that CAN take a joke and brush shit off as ironic or a statement or whatever, but most of this guys material made me want to hang out on the patio and chain smoke, which I eventually did. I don’t know the dude and make no personal attacks, but from the time he spent at the Mill I have developed cause to write the only bad “review” I have ever put into type. And I am sure if he reads this he will have a handful of publishable words for me.
The Boxknifes smoothed all that out and got people at the stage and, for lack of a less cliche term, “rocking out”. I’ve yet to see them play when they didn’t have most of the room on their feet hooting and hollerin. According to the ancient social network (MySpace) they self-describe their sound as “grindin’ all mean an’ nasty-like”. This is true in all the best ways you can imagine. Guitar, a couple drums, two-minute songs and a hawt front woman is a recipe for a killer set. They are certainly on my Most Recommended Bands in Iowa City list, if I ever get around to making that list for real. Next time I catch them, I am taking video. It’s too hard to describe that much fun in words.
Spook Lights (from Lawrence, KS) closed out the show in true garage rock fashion. I even thought they had sprinkled a little rockabilly into their music, which I think is underutilized by bands (or done badly). It’s a shame that Shane came back and stole, no – broke – the proverbial spotlight a second time with his shenanigans. It’s also a shame that the Spook Lights frontman’s fed-the-eff-up side came out causing him to launch a mic stand at said heckler. After that, the room cleared in protest of both sides of that conflict and the Spook Lights excellent set was heard by only a small handful of us left in the back room. I will say that this all sounds like way more drama than it was, really, and the folks at the Mill handled this in the best way possible. Never fear, the Mill is still a clean, wholesome place to get down and dirty with some of the best music in the city.
I’m a Shane Morlan fan for sure! As a woman with a sense of humor, and one who pays attention when he introduces his songs. I understand the humor and get that it’s just that…humor. I don’t think he will have any choice words for you though. Not really his style. Either you get him or you don’t I don’t think he cares either way. If anything you have amused him.
Obviously the writer, err, what’s her name, doesn’t know shit about Shane Morlan and seems too pretentious to be writing reviews about anyone.
The Boxknifes smoothed things over? You probably heard 30 seconds of one song and then left so that statement doesn’t mean shit and has no ground. I’m sorry your art has to be fed to you through a baby bottle but that’s no reason to spew your hatred towards something you don’t know anything about…MUSIC!
I suggest you go back to bed and cuddle up with your little ipod and listen to Simon and Garfunkle. Thank you for wasting my time with this bogus review. That a minuet of my life I’ll never get back you poor excuse of a reporter.
Never heard of The Boxknifes or……sorry, had to go back to the top of the screen to read the other band’s name, Spook Light. So I don’t have anything to say about them.