I have a new favorite band.
I feel like in many ways I’m very much with the times as I’ve always been sort of fluid when it came to my favorite band. I know guys in their 50s who have the same favorite band they had when they were in high school. While I still totally appreciate the music from my youth (The Who, Cheap Trick, Yes, Van Halen, Jim Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Rush, The Clash, U2 and REM) I rarely seem to listen to this music anymore. If it was 1990, I would tell you to your face that Social Distortion was my favorite band with maybe Jane’s Addiction a close second. If it was 1996, I would say REM again. If it was 2003, I would say Ryan Adams or maybe Lucinda Williams. It if was 2005, I would most certainly say Eels without a doubt and to be honest they have occupied that spot for the better part of the past 14 years. In that same period, I have dabbled with some Neko Case, some Emmylou Harris and some Doves. Up until just recently, The War on Drugs occupied the top spot. When a band makes it to this place in my brain I feel compelled to dig into their catalogue and really get to know them.
At this moment, I’m there with Titus Andronicus. And after seeing them at the Spirit Lounge on September 4, I have no doubt they will occupy this space for quite some time.
One finds new music in a multitude of ways. Spotify suggestions, movie sound tracks, simply listening to the radio, a friend making a recommendation or in this case by watching a TV show. I’m not sure how a person gets into this as a profession, but I remember hearing a few years back how there are people who have as a career the job of placing music in TV shows. So earlier this spring when I was watching an episode of Billions, I ran across a bit of music I really found compelling. It wasn’t necessarily my particular favorite genre of music, but I knew I liked it. The main character was tearing down the road in his sports car and this song was blaring and one click later on Shazam I discovered “Dimed Out.”
I was hooked.
Within a week I’d purchased a CD from the band’s website as well as a Titus Andronicus T-shirt and was scouring YouTube for songs. I probably watched “No Future Part IV: No Future Triumphant” three dozen times. I texted the song to family and friends and became an advocate. When I saw the band was coming to the Spirit Lounge, I knew I would be there and invited several people to join me. In the end, the only taker I found was my buddy Steve. He had attended the Eels concert with me in April and had thoroughly enjoyed the show. In particular he enjoyed The Inspector Cluzo who opened the show and realized he never would have discovered this band had he not ventured out of his musical comfort zone. Was he a huge Eels fan? Not necessarily. But he went to the show anyway and ended up discovering something great in the process.
The Spirit Lounge is located on the 51st block of the Lawrenceville section of the city. A quick search of my Google Maps has the place listed as “Hip bar, pizza parlor & event space.” Sounds about right. So, with neither one of us having been to this establishment before and without really knowing the parking situation we decided to meet for a pizza and some beers at the Spirit Lounge prior to the show. The pizza didn’t disappoint and we were thrilled to discover Happy Hour prices for our beers when it was time to settle up. With our bellies full we ventured outside to get some fresh air.
As we stood in front of the building and continued our conversation from inside, out walked Patrick Stickles and another guy and they went around the corner into the parking lot. I looked at Steve and said, “Hey, that the main guy from band. Let’s go try and say ‘hello.’”
I started by saying something to the effect of “I know I’m not necessarily your target audience, but I’m a new fan and I just wanted to say ‘hello’.” Well let me just say this…these guys couldn’t have been nicer or more down to earth. We had a great conversation that rambled from Van Halen contract riders to Disneyworld to me purchasing a CD (The Most Lamentable Tragedy) from their website to Kennywood and Coney Island. After 5-10 minutes we thanked them for their time and went to the back patio to have another beer.
The opening act was a local band named the Slugss. We both enjoyed them. They drifted around the progressive rock landscape with some edgier, hard rock hooks thrown in for good measure. Steve summed them up perfectly by describing them as being all over the map. And that was meant in a good way.
While we were watching them perform their third or fourth song, I noticed the drummer (Chris Wilson) for Titus Andronicus was standing in front of us, off to the side. I tapped him on the shoulder and said “I’m really looking forward to the show” and shook his hand. He smiled and said “Thank you.”
At this point I’m thinking to myself, “Hey, I’ve met half the band!” which doesn’t exactly happen all of the time.
When the Slugss wrapped up their set I went over to the merchandise table and looked to see what was available. You can never argue with a $5 CD so I purchased The Monitor.
I wasn’t aware there was a second warm up band until they came out and started setting up and I’m thinking that’s not Titus Andronicus. The lights dimmed and Control Top ripped into their opening song. Now I’m aware that everyone has different musical tastes, but I found nothing appealing about this band. They were a very loud trio is simply the easiest way to describe them. After their first song the lead singer said who they were and the name of the song and then she announced the second song. They blasted into it and it literally sounded the exact same as the first song. I looked at Steve and laughed and said “Let’s get out of here!”
So, we found ourselves outside again, enjoying the super pleasant early September evening air. Suddenly, the door opened again and out popped Patrick Stickles and crew again! By this point Steve and I each had at least 6 beers each and for this conversation we were acting like these guys were old friends. I commented how I had just picked up one of their CDs from their merchandise table for $5 and how that was even cheaper than anything you could ever get from Amazon! Well, the conversation again rambled in some weird directions, including a bit how there seems to be a prevalence of people who feel OK with taking a shit in the street. The one guy asked us what we thought about the opening acts and we told them we liked Slugss, but hated Control Top. Again, its all about musical tastes, right? Steve asked them about the name Titus Andronicus and we got the short, but sweet explanation. We spoke about the evils of Amazon and we talked about camping and how Steve was a blacksmith. All the while we were talking, Patrick Stickles was crouched down at the curb, trying to get his guitar in tune. Once again, we wished them well and told them to have a knock out performance and we left them to their own devices.
Steve and I were both feeling pretty good at this point. We’d had not one, but two conversations with Patrick Stickles. The show opened with just Stickles on stage for a solo version of “To Old Friends and New.” Then, the rest of the band came out and we discovered the other guys we had been shooting the shit with outside were the bass player (R.J. Gordon) and the guitar player (Liam Betson). I’m not sure why I didn’t connect the dots. Afterall, I’d seen plenty of videos and pictures and videos of the current band and I clearly knew what they looked like. I just never put it all together.
But enough about our interactions with the band prior to the show.
Setlist:
To Old Friends and New (Patrick Stickles solo)
Just Like Ringing a Bell
Troubleman Unlimited
Fatal Flaw
Ecce Homo
Still Life With Hot Deuce on a Silver Platter
Above the Bodega (Local Business)
Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ
On the Street
(I Blame) Society
Fired Up
Dimed Out
Tumult Around the World
The Battle of Hampton Roads
A More Perfect Union
Titus Andronicus Forever
…And Ever
It was during “Fatal Flaw” that Steve looked at me and there were no words to really even describe what we saw. The crowd was totally into it. The band was totally into it. And the sheer brute force energy was palatable. We both just smiled and knew this was great stuff. They were killing it. And holy shit, it was loud. It was probably too loud for that matter because I found that some elements of the song got washed out, but I attributed that to the fact that this was their first night back out on the road after a bit of a respite and more than likely they were dealing with typical issues that lower tier bands with smaller budgets have to handle themselves compared to having a team of roadies manage things.
They really ramped everything up a second time for “Dimed Out” and I thought about what Stickles had mentioned just a bit earlier during the show. He had made a comment about playing in Cleveland and about seeing the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. He said something to the effect of “…and we know we will never get in there.” As I’m watching this band tear through this song and I’m seeing the crowd respond, I’m thinking to myself that I was a part of something magical. If you go and get a chance to see Titus Andronicus perform you will see they are the real deal. This IS Rock N Roll defined.
After an excellent performance of “Tumult Around the World” the band took a breather. Stickles went to the mic and thanked the Spirit Lounge for their hospitality and he also thanked the guy manning the merchandise table and a few others. Then he says “And Jim and Steve…you guys are out there somewhere. Where are you guys?” I couldn’t believe it. We of course whooped it up a bit so he saw where we were, but getting the “shout out” from Stickles just put the whole night over the top.
With that they ripped into “The Battle of Hampton Roads.” We moved from our position off to the side to the front row. I wasn’t in the pit right in front, but my hands were on the stage and there were super exited people dancing ten foot to my left. I will say this here and now that I haven’t been caught up in the music like this since I saw the Grateful Dead back in the 80s when I said to myself “To hell with it…I don’t care what I look like. I’m dancing.” So, as they continue with their final songs I’m pounding on the stage and completely getting lost in the moment. My clothes were flapping in the breeze as the sound waves from the speakers were pushing my clothes around. My ears were literally inches from the speakers.
I’ve seen most of the important rock bands over the years. Some I saw when they were young and some I saw when they were in their declining years. Some had incredible stage presence and some were really just a sloppy version of their records. I’ve read about performances from The Clash, The Doors, The Sex Pistols, Queen and David Bowie and how they had a connection with their audience that you just couldn’t adequately describe. I will say this, Titus Andronicus put on a performance that rivaled any band I’ve ever seen. If you get a chance to see them live do yourself a favor and attend the show. These bands don’t happen all that often, but when they do, they should be given adequate attention.