Shearing Pinx and the Tall Birds

Shearing Pinx @ Hemlock S.F., 7/1/07

This was an all around good show, even though my band Red Nurse practically cleared the room with the volume of our set. But it was great that Shearing Pinx made it down; just two days before in Portland, their second stop, their van broke down. So the day of the show they made the 13-hour drive and played to a half-filled Hemlock. Pure punk rock.

As far as the music goes, just listening to a few songs basically describes the rest of their set: noisy, abrasive no wave with bits of free jazz thrown in as bridges or choruses. There’s some pretty sweet riffs thrown in there, but if you’re not a fan of “punk free jazz” (which is really guitarists just strumming anything on their guitars that seems noisy while their drummers impersonate a Keith Moon solo), then this might not be your thing. (Or maybe it wil convert you? Who knows?)

For more about the band, they have a Myspace page.

Tall Birds @ Le Voyeur (Olympia, WA), 5/27/07

The Tall Birds are seriously underrated, to the point where it should be considered a crime. Two of the members are from the Catheters, Sub Pop’s attempt at a newer, younger and, dare I say, sexier version of Mudhoney that had all the chances in the world to break — articles in Mojo, festivals in Europe, a video directed by the director of the Jackass movie — but never got their due. The Tall Birds are an extension of what the Catheters tried to do on their last album, “Howling… It Grows and Grows!,” an updated version of Nuggets/Funhouse-era-Stooges psych.

I didn’t record this show in Olympia, but to be honest, I don’t think it would’ve sounded any different than their own recordings. This band practices like it’s a part-time job: around 20 hours a week. You could probably put each member in a different city, have them run through a set, and they would still play each song flawlessly. Their drummer Davey lives for playing drums (though his drums parts give no indication of how good he really is) and their guitarist/singer Brian manages to the do job of three people — a rhythm guitarist, a lead guitarist and a singer — without a hitch. While watching the band, Quitty from the headlining act Nudity remarked to me on how amazing Brian’s guitar playing was. That’s quite a compliment since it comes from a man who played in three of the Northwest punk scene’s greatest bands: Mukilteo Fairies, Behead the Prophet and the Tight Bros From Way Back When.

Brian, who was a groomsman at my wedding (frankly I wish he was my best man), said I had the go ahead to throw on some songs from their new release, “Psychic Scam.” It’s a great mix of 4-track recordings and studio work, and the songs range from Hendrix-style rock to Velvet Underground-rock and roll.

You can check out their MySpace page here.

PS — If you click on the photo slideshow for the Tall Birds, you’ll notice picture of a freaky-looking woman with a red hat and a cane. I had to take a picture of her because during the entire Tall Birds set, she felt the need to dance in a style that mixed cabaret and hip hop. It was awful, it was irritating since she kept trying to get me involved and I feel sorry for anyone who had to witness it.