Marmoset were art school pals of MNO's so he talked me into going out to the show despite the thunder storm and it's nasty down pour. I actually hadn't ever heard Marmoset but had heard of them through their label, Secretly Canadian. The Hurricane told us there was a 9pm start time which I told MNO to ignore, but he was freakin' so we actually got there about 9 and met up with his pals. After hanging out in their van for a while, they got us into the club for free which is always good.

This actually was my first venture into the Hurricane (so little of value happens here anymore) so pardon the quick run down. You come into a mid-sized room with big round bar in the center and a few tables around the edges. A second room of equal size is connected containing a small bar, a decent sized stage with a decent sized dance floor. Lots of dark wood, a decent sound system, but not many people, at least not at 9pm on a Tuesday night.

The band tried to remain out of sight for as long as possible so they could wait to go on when people actually started showing up; and it worked until a little after 10. They started their set with only MNO, the soundman and myself in the room and a few folks in the bar side of the club. Only another person or two would join us by the time their set ended. They reminded me of early Cure (think Meathook), Wire and early Pink Floyd (w/ Syd) creating simple yet endearing pop songs full of quirk and vinegar. I enjoyed them quite a bit and MNO said the band sounded better than any other time he had seen them. Too bad no one was there to check 'em out.

We really didn't know who was headlining the show, but the doorman knew it was some band that sounded like Sabbath. I mean that's a good omen, but you're bound to be disappointed. Later when I heard the band had a member or two from Kyuss I was sure I was going to be disappointed.

Karma to Burn soon started setting up their gear but forgot to quit. The guitarist actually brought in a full Marshall stack, put a stool in front of it, bent a boom microphone towards him, sat down and proceeded to wank. The bass player set up a full sized rig as well, and wearing his best Harley Davidson shirt, proceeded to slink around the stage. He actually was pretty good and I enjoyed watching him. The drummer was either Al Jourgensen or Rob Zombie depending on how old you are but it was fun to watch his sticks and dreadlocks pound forward with the rhythm.

Musically they were pretty uninteresting. They had a bit of Clutch/Fu Manchu metal going for them but weren't nearly so interesting. The guitar and bass seldom strayed from each other, the songs had little structure or variation and after three very loud songs of no vocals and no hooks I gave up, slipped through the crowd of 20 or so people, and headed out to the van with Marmoset to talk about Bloomington and the goings on there.

After about an hour the band finished and The Hurricane announced the DJ would be out soon spinning your favourite retro hits. That's pretty much all the club does for Kansas City now a days - sad because I hear it used to be really nice.

Marmoset slipped back in, picked up their share of the door, and we convoyed back to MNO's house to stretch out and relax. Fairly uneventul night actually.