Cursive, At Forty.

I went to see Cursive last night at Exit In, a small club about two miles from my house, and it was definitely in the realm of good. I had seen them back in October at City Hall, a bigger venue on 12th, but was sure the smaller atmosphere would suit them better for several reasons. The City Hall show was decent, but the sound echoed through the empty space as the warehouse-like building wasn't even half full. They even seemed shocked at the size of the venue, as they thanked us for coming out to such a big room. I think this time around they decided to explore other venue options, and good for them because the newly remodeled Exit In was a far better choice for this 3 band line up. Exit In, though a good sounding room with the right set of ears behind the board, was one of those small black rooms with 2 scarce tables that appear at some shows at not at others; until recently they added a balcony inside full of tables and a nice view point over the crowd. So now it's a large black room with a large black balcony- still an improvement. I checked the show out from the new crow's nest and was sitting at a back table when the opening "band" came out- The Show is the Rainbow, a one-man band from Nebraska. This guy was hilarious. He had his laptop and a projector synced up to homemade video/flash creations that projected on this big sheet. These clips/videos were random footage that went with the music, and ranged from him in his own video game, to him talking to himself, to pure genius nonsense. His pre-recorded music beds overpowered the room as he jumped down into the crowd to perform the vocals live! Yes, it was interesting- and for one man, sounded huge. He reminded me of Zach Galifianakis & Jack Black's love child- and had the energy of 2 men half his size as he thrashed about screaming his electro-metal anthems of rejection-friendship-retarded molestation-and other pop savvy topics about not being cool enough to be cool. His entire act bordered unintentional comedy at every turn. Though in between songs I thought he may die of shortness of breath, his stamina amazed me in the long run as his energy literally fed the entire room. When he was done everyone in the room was pumped, having fun, and ready for the main course. I was just talking to some friends earlier that day about how rare an opening band really knocks you on your ass- or even keeps your attention for 20 minutes. When any of my old bands opened up the show, we'd always do a short set- I still appreciate that when other bands do it too. This guy played about 6 songs before calling it quits- and I enjoyed his whole set. It had to be the most refreshing opener I've ever seen. I searched for a vid to post, but none really gave him justice- however, I felt showing a taste was better than nothing.




After he was off stage the next band took the stage. (I'm skipping of course the 20 minutes of waiting) They were called These Arms Are Snakes, and I actually had some high hopes for them based on pure hearsay. I was digging the first 2-3 songs, but found myself hating the lead singers copycat antics. I realize there's not much you can do as a lead singer without a guitar or instrument, but in some cases, I'd urge some of these lead men to learn how to play SOMETHING! Especially if you're going to just flail about, imitate the Jagger step poorly, and pretty much rip off every Thursday-esque microphone swing I've ever seen. Of course by song 5 his shirt was off- I don't know why people that don't need to have their shirt off, do it so frequently? It's one thing if you're really fat- that's funny. But if you just think you're hot? I don't get it- I guess I've seen many a band make it in the horrible heat and still manage to keep their shirt on- anyway, enough ranting, It's just like a douche-bag alert goes off when the shirt comes up. I watched him try to climb a huge monitor that- well there was no way to really climb- I think he quickly realized it too, but spent a lot of time getting over to it, so he just grabbed at it for the 5 minute metal break and sweat on people as he shook his head from the intensity he was feeding himself. I bet in his mind- they are amazing! I'd like to experience it from that end- maybe it wouldn't have sucked my will to live. The main point- these arms were tired of their set in a bad way. (oh yea, I went there) By half way through, everyone on the balcony was texting each other, sleeping grade-school style with their head quietly on their folded arms, or making out! (side rant: why do horribly unattractive people come out of their holes to make-out and ass grab in front of others in public? it makes no sense- and they always look like the worst kissers- AND! you can't not look at it!) Anyway, their set went on way too long, and that's exactly what you don't want to do. I swear- I think they played an entire album of work. TIP TO OPENERS: Always leave them wanting more! Please?!?!! After they killed the entire fun vibe that The Show is the Rainbow had set up, they begin to set up The stage for Cursive.

This is the shortest clip I could find of These Arms Are Snakes, but will give you a great idea of how an hour of it would feel.



1 more beer and a Redbull later, Cursive comes out to a pretty packed club in Nashville, which I'm sure mad them feel good at this point in their career. They played mostly tracks off Happy Hollow and The Ugly Organ with a sprinkling of older ones mixed in throughout. I would have preferred more off Domestica, but they were doing their thing with the horn section backing them- it was a-ok. I miss Gretta & the cello, especially live, but the horn accompaniment was nice and unexpected, especially on "The Great Decay", "Sierra" and "The Recluse". I would have loved to hear "Sink to the Beat", but I always want to hear that song! (and they played it last time @ City Hall) They did play "Bad Sects" (one of my fav's off Happy Hollow) but I found it much less entertaining minus the female backing vocals- though a nice mellow tune for them about mid-show. They played a solid set and were incredibly tight as always. The energy of the tightly packed crowd fed the whole room, and you could tell they were having a good time, and that it was a surprise that Nashville would give them such love. (side note: Thank you Nashville people that were there- I've been loving the influx of shows we get, and keeping the artist feeling like this IS helping! keep it up!) The encore was short, sweet, and perfect: "Big Bang" -Happy Hollow, "The Recluse" -The Ugly Organ, and wrapping it up with "The Martyr" -Domestica. In "The Recluse", they somehow made a segway into the chorus from The Bangles, "Eternal Flame" right in the middle of the song?!?!?! and then continued to the end.... pretty interesting. Aside from the Bangles mimic, they are a great band to me and one thing I love about seeing them still is how they are kinda getting old. It's funny because I've been waiting for this situation for a long time! What happens to angsty-indie bands once they get old? Do they break up? (mostly) Do they turn mellow and play everything acoustic? (it's an option) It must be how my dad feels about Aerosmith. Regardless, it's great because they have such... raw power in some of their songs, and well- you just can't got ape shit when you're 37+ years old. However, Cursive is not boring (yet)- and they will still give you a damn good show. I love that they are still doing it, and that it's starting to answer my question of what happens now? They did have a new drummer they referred to as "Cornbread" and he was actually really good. We wagered that the old drummer turned 50 and said- yea, I can't play this anymore; but who knows. I know bands don't think of longevity- and trust me, I know about random shit breaking up a band, but it's fun to think about some bands, and what they'll be like if they stick around for the long haul- like These Arms are Snakes- are they going to be playing the same "Rage Against the Drive-In" rip off shit when they're 40? Let's hope not; and also let's hope that guy can one day learn to be inside with a t-shirt on, even if it is 80 degrees. What about bands like Fall Out Boy? hahaha, that's just fun to think about. Hopefully they'll fizzle the way of Blink-182 and go on to do better things. I'm just glad Cursive is still rocking it- and coming to places like Nashville, TN- it was never a stop for them much in the past, and thankfully we get to be on their map again.

This is not from Nashville, but it is on this tour and a good live version of "The Recluse" the video was unable to be embedded, so I linked it to the photo below.



In re-cap, Cursive: great as always but no real surprises aside from blending in some cover montages and overly pausing on some parts to where you almost forget what song their on and that they need to finish 20 seconds of it ("Dorothty At Forty"). Also, in my opinion, They are still missing a key element, the lovely Gretta Cohn. I miss her backing vocals and mad cello skills in the mix. Overall, I'd have to say the gem of the evening definitely being The Show is the Rainbow- if you have a chance to catch his live performance, please do it! You will be completely entertained. I was laughing my ass off, enjoying a well thought-tightly presented collaboration of funny videos, whacky stage antics, and well composed arrangements all at the same time. Gimmick or not- this guy is unique, and his cleverness, presence and pioneering just may lead the revolution in answering the question- so, what's indie rock, or better "music" gonna do next? I mean, c'mon- this is the kinda shit our kids are gonna do. So my advice, get used to the media-melding. It will prepare you for when you're kid comes in one day to show you his art; how he put a scrambled scene from "Better Off Dead" (because it was the oldest movie he could conceive) together with a backwards audio clip from Creed (who he gets confused with the Smashing Pumpkins) as well as him farting over it- you'll be prepared to critique it appropriately having been warmed up by The Show is the Rainbow.

Oh, this sparked a memory I feel the need to confess/addresss:
to my Dad- sorry I thought The Monkees were The Beatles EVERY time they came on the radio when I was 8- I'm sure that was annoying.