A mind-bending evening with Drive Like Jehu in Seattle

Drive Like Jehu's John Reis. (All Cat Rose photos)

Andy: text; Cat Rose: photos



Wait for it -- the crush will come.

You will bleed sweat and you will enjoy it.

As each member of Drive Like Jehu stepped onto the stage on Saturday night at the Showbox in Seattle, the crowd's elation level rose. A yell here and a clap there would soon turn into a barrage of bodies swinging to and fro, arms flailing and mouths spewing lyrics.

The two guitar and bass guys up front -- Rick Froberg, John Reis and Mike Kennedy -- soaked it up, leaning closer to the crowd with each note, each bead of perspiration. Band and crowd became one. The steady, power-packed man in the back Mark Trombino peeked over his drums and had a stellar view of the rowdy and invigorating scene.

Drive Like Jehu unleashed its caustic 14-song package of jagged, mind-bending rock with "Super Unison" and rolled from there. The most crowd-jolting experience came on "Do You Compute," a calm-before-the-storm stunner that left everyone drained by the end.

During a rare break from the unhinged guitaristry of vocalist Froberg and Reis -- who punches things home in a blur of hopping, kicking and smiling -- and rumbling bass from Kennedy, someone from the crowd delivered the line: "This is great!" The band members glanced at each other, chuckled, stared at the crowd for a bit... and then launched into another song. The deliverance continued: YES, THIS IS FUCKING GREAT!

In the end, Froberg's voice was tattered and Reis attacked his rig with his guitar, stepped back and flung the axe side stage to a roadie. Now that's a proper way to finish things off. Good night.

Find the bands: Descendents come ‘Full Circle’

Check it out, look inside the Descendents’ song “Full Circle” and you’ll locate some seminal punk bands that made an impact on songwriter Milo Aukerman and his crew.


“Full Circle”

X marks the spot on the map where the treasure was found
A glint of brilliance when we all started to dig underground
We got bad reception down there, like we were from or on Mars
But everything became so clear, once I got all four bars

And now I’ve come full circle
Crash landing 1980
Time travel to the creepy crawl
The big crux of intensity
Keep me alive

Once I saw it with my own eyes, everything started shifting gears
I listened to the true sounds of adolescence and had no fear
Just an alley cat, looking for some skank in the danger zone
And if I had one more minute, man, this is the last thing I wanna hear

(Chorus)

Notes and chords mean everything to me
Infected for life, I’ve got the disease
Like germs spreading throughout the land
If you were there, you understand
Keep me alive

X marks the spot on the map where the treasure was found

(Note: Insert Black Flag in a few spots.)

Hello, Cleveland! A stroll through the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Dictators

So, Cat was on a work trip to Cleveland this week and here's some of the artifacts she checked out at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Cliff Burton's Metallica bass. Alice Cooper's boots!

Joe Strummer's Clash guitar plus, below, "Lost in the Supermarket" hand-written lyrics

Ramones guitars, top and bottom

Jimi Hendrix guitars, top and bottom

Al Jourgensen's Ministry guitar

Elvis Presley's motorcycle

Towering inferno: Monolord shakes Bellingham

Monolord. (All Cat Rose photos)

When Monolord delivers, they decimate.

It feels like the venue will crumble. It feels like the listener will be shattered into pieces.

And we welcome this — we want to participate in the hefty barrage of dirge offerings from the Swedish trio. It’s good to have your brain rattled sometimes, clear out the cobwebs of whatever shit has been tossed your way during the day.

Monolord is like a doom therapist. Let the healing begin.

Here’s some of Cat’s photos from the Shakedown in Bellingham last Saturday. Openers were Beastmaker, Sweat Lodge and ISM.


MONOLORD

BEASTMAKER

SWEAT LODGE

ISM