I had been to approximately 1,324,232 shows in the last 2 days so I wasn't too enthused about another, but since Squidboy had essentially donated a track for the CCR Tribute and didn't complain when it didn't come out for 2 years, I figured I owed them my attention and $5 admission.
I called the club early and they told me the band was playing at 9-9:30 so I kinda planned my schedule around that and walked home from MNO's house just in time to leave for the show. I made a quick call to the club first and voila!, the grrl who answered the phone revealed the first band hadn't gone on yet and Squidboy wasn't going on until 11pm. Nifty, plenty of time and being burned out I planned to miss the first band and slip in just for Squidboy.
I popped in at 11 and another band was setting up. I was worried that Squidboy swapped slots and I missed 'em but turns out the show was just running late. Also turned out the opener had been swapped at the last minute and locals Aerialuxe were opening. Great, I had heard good things about Aerialuxe on the web boards and such and was excited to hear 'em.
Aerialuxe are Kansas City dream pop hoping to follow in the tradition of Shallow, NASA's Little Secret (which two members of Aerialuxe were a part of) and other local luminaries in what is actually a pretty small scene even nationally. Songs are dense and definitely focused on the low end supported by a five piece consisting of femail vocals, guitar, bass, bass/keys, drums and a whole lot of pedals.
Although I was under the impression the band had played out a half dozen times, they looked very nervous and the band never really relaxed and let the music wash over 'em. The singer held her mic tight with either one hand or two the whole show. She never let go and never moved - I guess she was hanging on for dear life. The songs that worked the best were the ones where the 2nd bass player moved to keys expanding the dynamic register of the songs even though the keyboard parts weren't particular engaging. Otherwise despite the major pedal banks used by the guitarist and 2nd bassist, they tended to trample each other. Overall the band has some good things going for them, but tonight it just didn't come together.
Des Moines's Squidboy set up and brought only about 8 people into the show room. They played a pretty long set that flowed well and was very relaxed despite Eric breaking a couple of guitar strings. Musically they were a little different than the last time I caught them - a lot more boogie. Even though it made the band laugh when I told them, I thought they sounded like a combination of Molly Hachette and Motorhead.
Their normal drummer couldn't make it, but a pre-trained replacement filled in flawlessly. A few nuances may have been missing but largely the rhythm section is a base for two Gibson Les Pauls that are mixed way up front. Squidboy are the only band I know of (with the possible exception of Spinal Tap) that trains other drummers ahead of time for expected drummer outages later.
The bar crowd enjoyed their energetic rock sound and a number of folks moved in and out of the room pretty regularly. The band even had a few drunk dancers at one point. Squidboy ended their set with two guitars missing strings and an amp that wouldn't stop smoking.