Live: Superchunk with OFF! & Lemuria @ House Of Vans 7.14.11

I never skated, not have I had any inclination to, but it is hard to ignore the Vans presence, what with the Warped Tour and all. I've not been to one of those in the better part of a decade and looking at the lineup, I've barely heard (I'm sure blessedly) of any of the bands and the ones I have heard of I feel pretty sorry for. That said, Vans are certainly atoning for their sins with the House Of Vans out there in Brooklyn.

I poo-pooed the whole thing above and beyond the free Superchunk factor, but that alone was enough to get me to take the day off and get there at 5 to ensure entry. Dave and Eric showed up for the last hour or so and we were in fairly quickly, entering a good sized warehouse space with a decent PA and a huge backyard with free beer and pizza. WTF! While I was (and am) fairly incredulous about the whole thing, I got over it once the free beer started flowing.

We posted up out back for Lemuria, who sounded decent from outside, although I've heard varying opinions of the sound inside. I've seen enough Lemuria shows to know that there is a lot of relative pitch exercised in the franchise, so I'll reserve judgement as when I did make it in for OFF! it sounded pretty decent. Of course that's a relative thing, as the grinding Black Flag-gery that is OFF! is a special kind of ear candy. Morris is charismatic as hell for the little bedreaded old man that he is, taking neither shit not shorts over their short set. It's always over way too soon, but I really think that's a good thing.

The wealth of free beer meant there was ample for giving to cute girls up front and for throwing on pesty Superchunk uber-nerds from NJ who don't know how to pogo in one place. Superchunk on nine cups of Heineken Light is a special kind of experience, but one I recommend. Jim the drummer showed up and it was on. Opening with Slack Motherfucker, the kids romped through a set heavy on the Strings reissue before getting Morris out for a romp through Gimme, Gimme, Gimme and Where Eagles Dare. Good times, maybe the best time I've had all year. I sure needed it and the company was damn good. As was the price. I think I'm going to buy me a pair of those Vans.

Kudos to House Of Vans for a great time in a well-run space that got me home by 11:15. You can damn well guarantee I'll be there next week for Fucked Up and Cro-mags. Wonder if the beer will be free at that one.

R