Little Lies and Massive Dreams

My name is Bear. I play in a band called Talking About Commas and live and work in Providence, RI. I like music.
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Jan 16, 2007

Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks @ Harlow's, Sacramento, CA


I am in love...again. Her name is Joanna and she plays bass for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, (See the shoeless beauty in the background of the picture above). She is from Placerville, CA which is located smack dab in the drab of California’s "Central Valley". Last night in the heart of said valley, Sacramento, she and her band mates returned home to a packed house at the city’s top rock club, Harlow’s. Ringleader Stephen Malkmus, formerly of Pavement (perhaps the most aptly named band ever considering the strip-mall, gas station and concrete laden town in which the band was formed, Stockton CA) lead his backing group, The Jicks, through a monstrous set fueled with a plethora of new material mixed with a uniform blend of past (solo career, no Pavement songs as usual) favorites.

I arrived halfway through the opener’s set with out knowing just how perfect this show would be. Harlow’s was packed, but not shoulder to shoulder, so maneuvering during the show was a breeze yet it still held the vibe of a sold-out show. In between bands I was even able to get a vodka tonic, pee, run in to my buddy (and fellow Ocean Stater T.K.) and find my way to the absolute dead front and center of the venue. Perfect. Armed with a fresh drink, a one-y pack and an empty bladder I waited for the king of indie-rock (well at least second in line to the throne behind Lou Reed, in my book) to take the stage.

The curtain flew open as the first fluttery notes of “Water and a Seat” echoed through the club’s PA system. Malkmus, sporting a snazzy 70's porno ‘stache for the tour, finger picked with ease between rhythm and lead guitar lines. For the amount of singing he does, its amazing how rarely you’ll find Malkmus plainly strumming barre chords along with his vocal deliveries. That would be far too easy. The second tune, “Pencil Rot” displayed just how rhythmic and quirky Malkmus’ music often is. This tour marks the debut of the newest Jick, Vacaville’s own Janet Weiss (of the now defunct indie-pop girl group, Sleater-Kinney), and I wanted to see how well she could drum to Malkmus’ atypical music. She passed with flying colors mastering every hit and time change proving she is possibly the best female rock drummer in existence, at least in my existence.

Then the band started to treat the crowd with the first of 7 brand new songs, presumably from the new album he is about to drop (soon I hope). I like to see music I’m familiar with when I go to a show, but this new batch of tunes is so strong that as the listener, I didn’t mind whatsoever. The new songs often provided tasty grooves for the band to improvise over and improvise they did. The Jicks jam more than any indie-rock ever, even Built to Spill. Given my history of cutting my concert-going teeth with jam bands, this was a welcoming virtue for me. It was great to see a tight 4 minute song like “It Kills” expand into a 10+ minute throw down. Yes, “It Kills” killed it.

During the band’s encore Malkmus bantered about how much Sacramento has changed since he left town almost a decade ago, presumably in his best sarcastic rouse, and introduced all the band members and which suburb they were all from (Keyboardist/Guitarist Mike Clark even attended Sacramento State University). After a brief but fitting “Stairway to Heaven” tease the Jicks launched into the barn burning “Baby C’mon” which even got the indie kids dancing, so you know it rocked. Why this guy is not selling out 3,000 seat theaters is beyond me, but its nice to catch a hot club show every once in a while.

The opening band, Entrance, played a mediocre set while trying to be indie’s answer to the Jimi Hendrix Experience way too much. The lead singer/guitarist spent too much time distilling feedback from his amps than actually playing his instrument. The rhythm section however proved to be very tight, and possibly rocks out in 3 harder than any band I’ve ever seen.



Set: Water and a Seat, Pencil Rot, Real Emo Trash*, Animal Midnight, Dragonfly Pie*, Merry Go Round*, Pennywhistle Thunder*, Walk into a Mirror*, Baltimore Again*, Mama, It Kills, Hopscotch Willie*, Jo Jo’s Jacket


E: The Hook, “banter/band intros”, Baby C’Mon
* denotes new tune. I got the titles from a guy who got the band’s actual set list after the show.

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