"We were working part-time. All. The. Time."

Another night, another concert.  This time was a special one for me as it was my first show at The Black Cat and my cousin, AO, was able to come to the show with me since she was in town!  The show we went
to this Thursday night was a The Henry Clay People headlining show with openers The Dig.

First, I will say that The Black Cat was exactly the right spot to see The Henry Clay People (HCP from here on out).  It was small, intimate, and the sound was great for such a small place.  Attending this show with me were AO, Andrew, and Brown N Wild (BnW from here on).  BnW was a surprise to this one as he had claimed he "had no money."  However, somehow he managed to scrounge up 10 bucks and made it to a great show.

The night started with The Dig who came out playing a pretty good rock set, although they insisted on using a synthesizer which, in my humble opinion, really weakened their sound.  When they decided to put down the synthesizer for a second guitar, they really rocked the place with some no holds barred, balls to the wall rock n roll.  To me, they were much more effective as a rock n roll outfit than a synth-wielding indie band.  However, it should be duly noted that BnW thought they were better than the headliner, HCP.  Don't get me wrong, they were a good band, and in fact were good enough to get a call for an encore from the small crowd there.  For that song, they once again decided to leave the synthesizer for the axe, and it worked wonders for them.

And now for the main event!  HCP came out and immediately caught our eyes with their disheveled look and demeanor.  They ripped through their first song and then had a few technical difficulties.  During this time, the pianist began a great rendition of "Space Oddity" by David Bowie.  I should stop here to say that I have heard that seeing The Replacements in the 80s was like seeing a band constantly on the verge of falling apart, or simply one who just fell apart.  This felt like we were seeing the 2010, much friendlier version of The Replacements.  The guitarist, still somehow able to play all the right notes, was nevertheless constantly looking like he was going to kick the lead singer and knock over the high hat or keyboardist.

Regardless, they rocked.  Simply and undeniably.  They put on a straight up, no frills, bar rock show.  They can definitely hold the attention of a bigger audience, and as far as smaller bands go, I do believe that they will make some pretty decent noise at some point in the industry.  They have the potential to get really big, and they really deserve it.  They have opened up for bands such as Silversun Pickups (second time I have mentioned this band in this blog, wtf?!), Against Me!, and Drive-By Truckers.  This band can feel comfortable with those different bands, and I believe everyone can like this band if they ever gave them a chance.  So, give them a chance for christ's sake!

For the record, BnW came into the show expecting to really not like the band all that much, but just have a good time seeing live music. He was sold, I believe, after they ended with a bad ass version of that tramp song about that girl Wendy.  Andrew looked for a catch phrase after this show, but was unable to find one which he felt would fit the occasion.  AO decided that she might need to broaden her horizons when it came to music after this one.

As I said, this band was on the verge of falling apart all night, but made it so entertaining that it just felt like it was part of their schtick. They were bad ass, they were unrelenting, they were wild, they were having fun, and they were loud.  All of these things make for a great rock n roll show, and they did not disappoint on any level.  They, I hope, will be big, and I will be able to look back and be glad that i was able to see them at such a small, but great venue.