Monsters, Inc.
Horrorpops @ Maxwell's
The Mercykillers/Hypnotwists/Misteriosos/Von Ghouls//Otto's//3/18/06
Sometimes, tho, things do work out for me. I got the H-pops ticket b4 the full bill @ Otto's was posted. The Misteriosos were also playing Pianos and Sin-e, but this one was free. So I knew I was going there after the 'pops. I wanted to see the Horrorpops more out of curiosity. I almost considered going to see the Dropkicks so's I could see the 'pops as well. But the H-pops are playing w/the Briefs in April, at the Knit, and I'm sure I'm not going to see anything there. If it ends up being a pit, it won't be a big deal if I head to the balcony since I'm more interested in the Briefs. And it was only $10 and I thought there'd be opening acts added that could be cool. There weren't any opening acts, though.
I figured the day would be shot, what with the show being in Hoboken in the 1st place and early, at 5:30. (Which is why I was figuring on some opening acts that I can maybe get into. Or make fun of.) Still, I was up early enough to throw in a load of laundry and up late enough to worry that I was pushing it, because I still needed to secure film. I haven't been to Maxwell's since CMJ, which is why I was referring to this weekend as my own CMJ, but with better bands. I ran to the Duane Reade @ Continental to get the film because 1) I can't stand it when drugstores keep film behind the registers, and 2) I was working my way toward a $5 coupon and if I'm going to keep buying film like crazy, I want to at least get something out of it. The lines were out the door and then the F went local thru Queens. I just had to do the laundry, didn't I? I just couldn't wait until Sunday, right? Still, I made it to the PATH in record time, remembering how I used to feel all sneaky when I 1st started going there, thinking, I'm going to another state to see a show. And I still needed to eat, lest I end up standing in a mosh pit and starving. I bypassed every deli on my way up Washington, telling myself the next one is it because I'm going to run out of opportunities. There's a pizza place a little past Maxwell's and I figured on that, because at least I'd be there already. But Washington St. had an equal mix of stores that were doing good and places closed down. Thankfully the pizza place is still open and as I waited for my slice, I looked in the mirror behind the counter and noticed the deep grooves under my eyes. Like dents. Not even concealor helps. Sheesh.
It was about 5:20 when I went in and there was nobody there. Well, I knew that doors weren't going to be exactly at 5:30, but I figured on thereabouts. A brawler of a guy, in this year's DKM shirt, arrives, smoking and holding a beer. Two women, one in a DKM shirt, are next. A punk kid in creepers and her mom. Ha, and I got my laundry out of the way. Nate said doors weren't going to be for a while, and no opening acts. One woman points out that the tix say 5:30 doors, show @ 6. "Yeah, tickets say a lot of things," Nate points out sympathetically. The woman announces that she's going in @ 6. Good luck to ya. I go outside to pick up a Press and hang up my coat. There are signs on the door that no one's allowed in except for bands and staff because there's still a soundcheck going on and the venue isn't open. Whaddaya know, that woman tried to go in @ 6 and was turned away. Ok, Misteriosos on @ 10. I can still make it. And there was a late show @ Maxwell's so it would wrap up early, meaning they had to let us in early. I was reading Knipfel's column about being trapped in an elevator and I was wondering if it was our office building he was referring to.
I had a paragraph to go when we were let in and I put the paper down on the stage, went to check out the merch table, and when I came back, Patricia asked me if the paper was interesting. And then she picked it up and took it with her. Bitch. I was reading that. Oh, wait. Oh my Gawd! A band member took my newspaper! I'm not worthy! I kinda figured that Horrorpops is a rockabilly Groovie Ghoulies with upright bass. The guy from Tiger Army is also in Horrorpops, playing guitar. Not that I follow Tiger Army, but I remember him straddling his upright from when TA opened up for Rancid.
Two guys in Maxwell's Ts stand right up front, the guy next to me smoking. Bounders? There's actually bouncers here? Phew. Gahd, I'm old. But, ahhh. Right up front, I can take pix, and I won't get my ass kicked. To my right was the girl who was there w/her mom and the rest of her bandmates; one guy couldn't've been more than 16, his hair sprayed in an ozone-destroying, clumpy style to the point where you could actually see the dried spray on it. But when it comes to Danish band H-pops, the answer is always "Hell Yeah!"--the title of their 1st album. "Are you ready?" "Do you need some lovin?" "Are you ready to dance?" To which the audience replies Hell Yeah until they're convinced. 
In addition to Geoff from Tiger Army, the band consists of Nekroman, from the Nekromantix, and 2 SuicideGirls-lookin backup dancers in skeleton dresses, holding fans and other props, like heart-shaped pillows and toy guns. Damn, I've gots to get me a job like theirs. Well, if not their jobs (because I can't afford all the tattoos and piercings) then at least the dress. Patricia, of the Bettie Page hair, rocks the upright bass in stilettos. So if I was thinking that Horrorpops is just Groovie Ghoulies but w/upright bass, the band sure didn't do anything to dispell that notion or prove that they're anything more. They weren't terrible, but I have the feeling that if I saw them @ Nokia w/DKM, from the vantage point of the mezzanine balcony, I would've thought they were better than they were. On a stage like @ Nokia, in a theatre such as that, watching all their fans running around, I would've had a much different reaction to them, mistaking distance for perspective. But I can see why they toured w/DKM. It makes for a good pairing because both bands have a similar approach to their music. Both work from the outside in instead of the other way around, which is how it should be.
(What can I say, I didn't want to change film as soon as the band started and <----this was the last shot on the roll.) They also have a song where you spell out the band name, which makes me wonder what it is with these schtick bands and spelling things out in song. The other thing to know is "Bring It On!" Their latest album. "Do you want to hear some new songs?" Bring it on! In case we need help, that's tattooed on Nekroman's arm. He's got coffin-shaped instruments tattooed on his neck and Geoff has a big bat tattooed on his throat, which is how I recognized him because it looked familiar. Their ska numbers didn't get much of a pit going, because of how small the place is, and how crowded. They also didn't do much of an encore, leaving one girl yelling for Julia, which was down as an encore. "I did all this work and no Julia?"
The walk down Washington seemed to go quicker. On the PATH was a group of girls on the make, heading into the city in jeans and stilettos and too much perfume. As soon as we hit 14th I got right on the L over to 1st Ave, hoping Otto's was still standing. Not having access to a computer for so long, I forgot who exactly was on the bill early on. When I saw the sign in the window I thought, Sigh, Mercykillers, whatev. But they were better than I remembered, much more shreddier. I couldn't believe it. Maybe I was tired the last time they played there, or they were. (It was a Tuesday, like 10:30 or so that they went on. Maybe 11:30.) But not everybody was as happy as me. One guy yelled, "You suck! I'm outta here!" Maybe it was friendly heckling and he really knew them and was just joking. I finally got a seat and the guy at the table asked me who the band is. He explained that he's on vacation from Canada and just happened to wander in and the band made him stay. It was just the kind of music he came to NYC to hear. Though he said NYC is boring and he expected more freaks. Hypnotwist (man, was it was a lineup of bands with great names or what?) is really tight garage rock, perhaps why I felt kinda let down by The Misteriosos. I don't know why, but I was expecting all instro/surf music. They were kinda languid garage w/keyboard and vocals. Canada Guy pointed out that the artwork on the side of the drums is Canadian. He also asked me to recommend some places nearby. I said Manitoba's. "Manitoba! That's in Canada!" I tried to explain, but he couldn't get past the Handsome Dick part. I don't know why, but I was kinda expecting ghouls in Von Ghouls. What can I say? Per'aps it had to do with coming from the Horrorpops. Though if there were ghouls, maybe I would've turned up my nose at that, like, sheesh, another schtick band.
After the bands was pirate kareoke, which is why I assumed the woman who came in toward the end of the Von Ghouls' set was holding cables or wires or something. I didn't realize that the white coils in her hands were actually the fingernails on her hands. She sat in the back and I tried not to stare, but holy crap. Too bad Canada Guy left, since he wanted to see some freaks to make his trip worthwhile. Maybe they're fake and that's her thing when she goes out, she puts the nails on. But how do you go to the bathroom like that? I mean, seriously.
The Mercykillers/Hypnotwists/Misteriosos/Von Ghouls//Otto's//3/18/06
Sometimes, tho, things do work out for me. I got the H-pops ticket b4 the full bill @ Otto's was posted. The Misteriosos were also playing Pianos and Sin-e, but this one was free. So I knew I was going there after the 'pops. I wanted to see the Horrorpops more out of curiosity. I almost considered going to see the Dropkicks so's I could see the 'pops as well. But the H-pops are playing w/the Briefs in April, at the Knit, and I'm sure I'm not going to see anything there. If it ends up being a pit, it won't be a big deal if I head to the balcony since I'm more interested in the Briefs. And it was only $10 and I thought there'd be opening acts added that could be cool. There weren't any opening acts, though.
I figured the day would be shot, what with the show being in Hoboken in the 1st place and early, at 5:30. (Which is why I was figuring on some opening acts that I can maybe get into. Or make fun of.) Still, I was up early enough to throw in a load of laundry and up late enough to worry that I was pushing it, because I still needed to secure film. I haven't been to Maxwell's since CMJ, which is why I was referring to this weekend as my own CMJ, but with better bands. I ran to the Duane Reade @ Continental to get the film because 1) I can't stand it when drugstores keep film behind the registers, and 2) I was working my way toward a $5 coupon and if I'm going to keep buying film like crazy, I want to at least get something out of it. The lines were out the door and then the F went local thru Queens. I just had to do the laundry, didn't I? I just couldn't wait until Sunday, right? Still, I made it to the PATH in record time, remembering how I used to feel all sneaky when I 1st started going there, thinking, I'm going to another state to see a show. And I still needed to eat, lest I end up standing in a mosh pit and starving. I bypassed every deli on my way up Washington, telling myself the next one is it because I'm going to run out of opportunities. There's a pizza place a little past Maxwell's and I figured on that, because at least I'd be there already. But Washington St. had an equal mix of stores that were doing good and places closed down. Thankfully the pizza place is still open and as I waited for my slice, I looked in the mirror behind the counter and noticed the deep grooves under my eyes. Like dents. Not even concealor helps. Sheesh.
It was about 5:20 when I went in and there was nobody there. Well, I knew that doors weren't going to be exactly at 5:30, but I figured on thereabouts. A brawler of a guy, in this year's DKM shirt, arrives, smoking and holding a beer. Two women, one in a DKM shirt, are next. A punk kid in creepers and her mom. Ha, and I got my laundry out of the way. Nate said doors weren't going to be for a while, and no opening acts. One woman points out that the tix say 5:30 doors, show @ 6. "Yeah, tickets say a lot of things," Nate points out sympathetically. The woman announces that she's going in @ 6. Good luck to ya. I go outside to pick up a Press and hang up my coat. There are signs on the door that no one's allowed in except for bands and staff because there's still a soundcheck going on and the venue isn't open. Whaddaya know, that woman tried to go in @ 6 and was turned away. Ok, Misteriosos on @ 10. I can still make it. And there was a late show @ Maxwell's so it would wrap up early, meaning they had to let us in early. I was reading Knipfel's column about being trapped in an elevator and I was wondering if it was our office building he was referring to.
I had a paragraph to go when we were let in and I put the paper down on the stage, went to check out the merch table, and when I came back, Patricia asked me if the paper was interesting. And then she picked it up and took it with her. Bitch. I was reading that. Oh, wait. Oh my Gawd! A band member took my newspaper! I'm not worthy! I kinda figured that Horrorpops is a rockabilly Groovie Ghoulies with upright bass. The guy from Tiger Army is also in Horrorpops, playing guitar. Not that I follow Tiger Army, but I remember him straddling his upright from when TA opened up for Rancid.
Two guys in Maxwell's Ts stand right up front, the guy next to me smoking. Bounders? There's actually bouncers here? Phew. Gahd, I'm old. But, ahhh. Right up front, I can take pix, and I won't get my ass kicked. To my right was the girl who was there w/her mom and the rest of her bandmates; one guy couldn't've been more than 16, his hair sprayed in an ozone-destroying, clumpy style to the point where you could actually see the dried spray on it. But when it comes to Danish band H-pops, the answer is always "Hell Yeah!"--the title of their 1st album. "Are you ready?" "Do you need some lovin?" "Are you ready to dance?" To which the audience replies Hell Yeah until they're convinced. 
In addition to Geoff from Tiger Army, the band consists of Nekroman, from the Nekromantix, and 2 SuicideGirls-lookin backup dancers in skeleton dresses, holding fans and other props, like heart-shaped pillows and toy guns. Damn, I've gots to get me a job like theirs. Well, if not their jobs (because I can't afford all the tattoos and piercings) then at least the dress. Patricia, of the Bettie Page hair, rocks the upright bass in stilettos. So if I was thinking that Horrorpops is just Groovie Ghoulies but w/upright bass, the band sure didn't do anything to dispell that notion or prove that they're anything more. They weren't terrible, but I have the feeling that if I saw them @ Nokia w/DKM, from the vantage point of the mezzanine balcony, I would've thought they were better than they were. On a stage like @ Nokia, in a theatre such as that, watching all their fans running around, I would've had a much different reaction to them, mistaking distance for perspective. But I can see why they toured w/DKM. It makes for a good pairing because both bands have a similar approach to their music. Both work from the outside in instead of the other way around, which is how it should be.
(What can I say, I didn't want to change film as soon as the band started and <----this was the last shot on the roll.) They also have a song where you spell out the band name, which makes me wonder what it is with these schtick bands and spelling things out in song. The other thing to know is "Bring It On!" Their latest album. "Do you want to hear some new songs?" Bring it on! In case we need help, that's tattooed on Nekroman's arm. He's got coffin-shaped instruments tattooed on his neck and Geoff has a big bat tattooed on his throat, which is how I recognized him because it looked familiar. Their ska numbers didn't get much of a pit going, because of how small the place is, and how crowded. They also didn't do much of an encore, leaving one girl yelling for Julia, which was down as an encore. "I did all this work and no Julia?"The walk down Washington seemed to go quicker. On the PATH was a group of girls on the make, heading into the city in jeans and stilettos and too much perfume. As soon as we hit 14th I got right on the L over to 1st Ave, hoping Otto's was still standing. Not having access to a computer for so long, I forgot who exactly was on the bill early on. When I saw the sign in the window I thought, Sigh, Mercykillers, whatev. But they were better than I remembered, much more shreddier. I couldn't believe it. Maybe I was tired the last time they played there, or they were. (It was a Tuesday, like 10:30 or so that they went on. Maybe 11:30.) But not everybody was as happy as me. One guy yelled, "You suck! I'm outta here!" Maybe it was friendly heckling and he really knew them and was just joking. I finally got a seat and the guy at the table asked me who the band is. He explained that he's on vacation from Canada and just happened to wander in and the band made him stay. It was just the kind of music he came to NYC to hear. Though he said NYC is boring and he expected more freaks. Hypnotwist (man, was it was a lineup of bands with great names or what?) is really tight garage rock, perhaps why I felt kinda let down by The Misteriosos. I don't know why, but I was expecting all instro/surf music. They were kinda languid garage w/keyboard and vocals. Canada Guy pointed out that the artwork on the side of the drums is Canadian. He also asked me to recommend some places nearby. I said Manitoba's. "Manitoba! That's in Canada!" I tried to explain, but he couldn't get past the Handsome Dick part. I don't know why, but I was kinda expecting ghouls in Von Ghouls. What can I say? Per'aps it had to do with coming from the Horrorpops. Though if there were ghouls, maybe I would've turned up my nose at that, like, sheesh, another schtick band.
After the bands was pirate kareoke, which is why I assumed the woman who came in toward the end of the Von Ghouls' set was holding cables or wires or something. I didn't realize that the white coils in her hands were actually the fingernails on her hands. She sat in the back and I tried not to stare, but holy crap. Too bad Canada Guy left, since he wanted to see some freaks to make his trip worthwhile. Maybe they're fake and that's her thing when she goes out, she puts the nails on. But how do you go to the bathroom like that? I mean, seriously.
posted by heather @ 1:56 PM
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