Live: Quicksand with Cymbals Eat Guitars at Webster Hall 1.31.13

I was intrigued when Quicksand reunited (again) last Fall at the Revelation Records Anniversary shows out West, but thought they were a little rough from the footage I saw online, plus I've seen my fair share of Quicksand shows (and last tours, for that matter), so it didn't really seem worth ponying up premium dollars to see them play again. The Music Hall Of Williamsburg show last year prompted a unexpected biblical deluge of texts from people losing their shit at how great the band was, but even then I didn't jump on tickets for the last two shows of the tour at Webster. Hey, it's cold.

An unexpected call from Laura had me braving the elements and grabbing a ticket for the last night of the tour. Despite all plans to the contrary, I posted up about halfway through the opening set from Cymbals Eat Guitars. Meh. Very meh. The foursome were met with pronounced indifference from the crowd and JS-NYC was decidedly among them. To be fair, an opening slot for Quicksand is a tough slot on a band's best day. I'm not sure if this was CEG's, but I was pretty bored by everything I heard.

I found Laura and caught up for a bit, then settled in as the lights went down and the boys launched into Omission. The next hour and a half of so saw the band tearing through most of their catalog to an older, but no less enthusiastic crowd. No one in Quicksand is a spring chicken, but everyone looks to be in fine fettle and the band is tight as a drum. Rarely has there been a band where all four parties are as formidable musically individually. Cage and Vega are a truly monster rhythm section, and Capone and Walter are a two headed beast to be reckoned with. Not a lot of small talk from Walter, just a gang of bangers as well as the obligatory romp through How Soon Is Now. Good times and good company in a good room. Plus I was home by 11, which makes it all the sweeter.

Take the groundbreaking chestnut that you should get into Quicksand and do what you will with it. Keep track of what the future holds for the fearsome foursome here.

R

Live: Bob Mould with Cymbals Eat Guitars @ Williamsburg Waterfront 9.7.12

This show was curiously under the radar, despite it being in a pretty huge spot and sponsored by Lacoste. I showed up towards the end of the Cymbals Eat Guitars set and saw as much as I would have liked of their kinda sorta ok Brit flavored rock. Kudos to them for scoring the gig, but it was even more of a pleasure to roll into a not especially fully space and cut straight to the rock chase.

Bob has been simultaneously touring behind his new record Silver Age and commemorating the 20th Anniversary of the release of the first Sugar record Copper Blue. This set, and a few others featured Copper Blue in its entirety. A beautiful late Summer night combined with the new record being damn good and Bob having worked a fair amount of Husker Du tracks into the set in recent years, capped with Lacoste footing the bill, it made for one of the better shows this year.

The other two guys on the tour, that being Ironman Jon Wurster on drums and bassist Jason Narducy have comprised the Mould rhythm section for a while now, and it is pretty impossible to fault our Bob for choosing either. I'd say its his best band since the Maimone/Fier era by a long shot. The old and new material was/is great, and there was the added nerd bonus of Craig Finn coming out during the encore to shout his way through Something I Learned Today, a moment captured below and captioned in typical brilliant fashion by our dear Mr. Wurster, "And then this man came on stage and started yelling "I was into Bob Mould before any of you!"

All in all, a great night, especially given the price.
Get The Silver Age and/or the 3cd remaster of Copper Blue here from your friends at Merge.

R