Live blogging from the Minneseries :: 06.14.07

9:47 PM

So here I am at The Nomad on the West Bank in Minneapolis for Mouthful of Bees' second week of their monthlong residency as the headliners of the Minneseries, which is now proudly brought to you by this blog, 89.3 The Current, The MMA and Reveille Magazine.

Tonight, shit's real. Giga Fox, the band that was supposed to open and are friends of Katelyn Farstad from MOB, just had their car and all their gear stolen near downtown, so things are running a little behind at the moment. MC/VL's in the house already, and John Henry's looking mighty fine with his mullet-hawk.

The Cavs are probably still getting creamed by the Spurs. So much so that they've switched the TV to a meaningless interleague game between the Twins and the Braves. Of course, that game's in the bottom of the 9th and the score is tied 2-2 and ... oh ... the Twin just won. Walk-off single to left. A better choice than the travesty that has been the NBA Finals. I'll come back and post more to this later ...

10:11 PM

Hey, you know what? It's hotter than Hades in the Nomad. Why did I wear jeans? The TV's now showing Manchester City vs. Arsenal. I'm putting my money on Arsenal. That's all I've got for now.

10:19 PM

Now I've got something worth talking about. A kind of co-ed semi-nude bike crawl just rolled in, led by none other than Rob Skoro. The girls are mostly in tank tops and panties, the dudes in even less than that. A couple brave young ladies are in bra and panties. You wouldn't believe how much this improves the ambiance here. One guy's wearing boxer briefs that are too revealing by half.

Why oh why did I wear jeans? A lot of them have messenger bags, which I would imagine would chafe like the dickens without a shirt. I think I once tried to play guitar shirtless. I wouldn't recommend it. Shit gets pinched.

And someone should make them wipe down the barstools after use, a la the Nautilus machines at the gym.

10:33 PM

MC/VL are taking the stage right now. First track is the last one on their disc that bites AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" to gloriously retarded effect. In a true show of class, the bike crawlers are actually crowding the stage and listening, not just bending the space over and then leaving, which I've seen more than a couple of crawls do in the past. MC/VL are not unlike the Beastie Boys, but think of the Beastie Boys from when they got a little smarter doing the songs from when they were dumber.

Here's what comes highly recommended on a hot-ass night like tonight. Campari and soda. I know, you think I'm nuts for liking a liquor which is basically bitters, but if you can get into it, it's mad refreshing in a way that most drinks aren't. It's so unheavy and unbloated.

MC/VL have now taken their shirts off. This not a Mark Wahlberg or C+C Music Factory moment. More of a Les Savy Fav kind of thing. Of course, between Har Mar Superstar and D4, Twin Cities bands have something of a reputation for getting shirtless even when it's not advisable, so why stop now?

10:49 PM

MC/VL have stripped down to their skivvies now. They appear to be grey briefs. Props. Man City's up 1-0, surprisingly. There's also an Asian man wearing glasses and a pink, flower-print one-piece bathing suit. And Ryan Olcott (lately of 12Rods and currently of Mystery Palace and doing sound at the Nomad tonight) seems unphased by the whole thing.

11:08 PM

Lamentably, the "Panty Posse" (as MC/VL branded them) have left the building. Now it looks more like the Nomad on a weeknight. You just can't plan for things like that, though. Who knew? Alls I'm saying is you should come check out Mouthful of Bees these next two weeks. They're one of the best bands in the Twin Cities right now, and will very soon be very much more popular and don't you want to say you knew them when?

11:25 PM

Mouthful of Bees is just getting set up. Stef Alexander (P.O.S.) showed up randomly, and that makes me happy. He reports that Building Better Bombs is putting together a European tour 12-inch for when they go across the pond in October, and also that the stuff he's working on for the next P.O.S. record is "awful". But he likes it, although he doesn't believe I will. All I can say is I'm looking forward to hearing it.

11:42 PM

Giga Fox are taking the stage with MOB's set up because, again, their stuff (including their car) was stolen. That seriously blows. Don't hold it against us, Giga Fox. Minneapolis is really a very nice place. It's one guy on guitar and vocals and a drummer, playing what seems to be a fractured brand of post-rock. The singer is struggling a bit with a guitar that isn't his, but they're doing a game job.

I, however, cannot take the heat in here, and so am getting out of the kitchen. I have to get up early tomorrow and really get cracking on some work, too. So that's it for this post. Hopefully I can clear the calendar next week so I can stay up for Mouthful of Bees.