Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave, The Moore Brothers
Throwing Muses, 50 Foot Wave, The Moore Brothers
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Great American Music Hall
Kristen Hersh is a badass. Playing twice in one evening, and rocking hard the entire time, Hersh reminded me why I consider her to be one of the most talented rock musicians ever. There, I said it. Maniacal: 50 Foot wave’s sound is a thicker, more emphatic version of Throwing Muses, (I suggest you pick up an album or EP if you haven’t already) The power trio includes drummer Rob Ahlers and Muses’ bassist Bernard Georges. Watching this petite soccer mom looking woman expertly work her gargantuan Thor guitar arm was truly inspirational. After the performance I wondered if Hersh would have it in her for round two…
Cutting Hersh’s evening in half was The Moore Brothers. The set was, well, cute. Two humble looking dudes, who appeared as though they just rolled out of bed, sang sweet sounding harmonies while they traded their guitar back and forth. I imagined them spending hours in a room together crafting their high ( as in a higher range) harmonies and maybe taking breaks to play Atari and eat soup or some shit like that. Just a weird fantasy. It was nice to listen to while getting drink, their performance was also a welcomed distraction from the super nerdy Throwing Muses history talk my date and his coworker got into, oy vey.
Throwing Muses set was great, duh. The set was a quintessential selection from TM’s repertoire. Again, with her veiny Thor guitar arm and her nimble-well trained fingers, this time, Hersh produced agile, vigorous sounds. From her tiny mouth came a vocal mixture of melodic, aggressive, deadpan, and lunatic. TM’s songs are structured in movements, with a range of tempos and chord progressions, topped off with surreal lyrics, and offering the listener a unique range of expression. I was surprised at how many people had vacant looks of their faces when I mentioned my plans to go see Throwing Muses, which leaves me to believe that not a lot of people in the Bay Area have been properly exposed, if you have a minute, school yourself.
Photo Credit: Leslie Schweizer
