My First Gibson Experience
I am a sucker for attention.
Cody Bender had left comments on my MySpace regarding his gigs. The first one I didn’t see until after getting drunk with friends and arriving home after midnight, the evening of his show. I explained and he suggested his next performance at the Gibson showcase. Okay, I owed him one. After all, he took the time to leave comments on my page instead of the generic event invites. Again, I am a sucker for attention and the laws of reciprocity.
On January 20, I met three friends at the Gibson. The guys who took our money informed us that we’d missed the first act, but enthusiastically exclaimed, “There’s four more to go!”
“Who went on first?” I asked"Oh, I don’t know their name,” one of them replied.
(Enter concert pet peeve #56: when the venue employees have no idea who the performers are. I once refused to pay Tin Roof 2’s cover because the guy at the door hyped the band but didn’t know their name.)
Incidentally, we had arrived five minutes AFTER Bender’s set. Darn it.
My friends and I bee-lined to the bar and settled in to a comfy booth near the back. The Gibson has to be one of the greatest venues in Nashville. The place is wide rather than long, with plenty of seating and viewpoints on four levels.
Our first act was Bixler, an ambitious group of youths with the gift of energy and facial expression. Clad in ironic t-shirts and jeans, the four members are in their mid-20s, but you’d swear they were high school juniors. Although vocalist Lee Cooke nearly made me turn a deaf ear by demanding the crowd to leave their seats, scream, and clap (enter concert pet peeve # 22) – I nicknamed him Smiley McEmo.
With “We Were Friends,” “Falling To Pieces,” and “On and On” a gaggle of girls, who appeared too young to be 30 feet near a bar, raged and swooned with Bixler’s anthems. A few definitive lyrics of their style include:
“She’s all that I need … she’s my misery.”
“I hung myself on my good intentions today.”
“Makes me wish I could write a song and make you fall for me.”
Yeah, I was reminded of Dashboard Confessional and Story of the Year, but guitarist Dave Clayton stole the show. He was the most active and enviable while leaping off the drum stand, hopping 360-degrees on one leg, and unleashing a guiltless windmill.
Dave Clayton of Bixler
Up next … jam aficionados, Under Shade, whose first tune fused a didgeridoo (a musical instrument of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia, consisting of a long hollow branch or stick that makes a deep drone when blown into), Spanish-style guitar plucking, and jazz piano. Like a dose of cough syrup, it was hard to swallow at first but eventually soothes. While listening to instant favorites “Umbrella Love” and “Pay,” I wondered if vocalist Jason Cole had a cold. He was muffled and words were barely recognizable, which may have been a sound booth error … BUT my jaw dropped to the floor when I heard the first few notes of Radiohead’s “Optimstic.” Oh no, they aren’t! Yep, they are. I perched up on the edge of the booth to devote my entire body to it and prepare to either love or hate them for even attempting it. I anticipated the bridge and whispered, “C’mon, boys, rock it out.” They did not disappoint. Drummer Steve Dickey is a superstar.
Under Shade
Following Under Shade was a kid and his guitar (whose songs may have been inspired by a little sister’s diary – they were typical, uninspired and played with the same three chords) and a metal/screamo outfit (whose fans probably go to high school with Bixler’s fans and loathe band camp) … their names escape me at the moment. Or maybe I’m just an aging hipster who remembers the when teen heartthrob groups were bubblegum, not Ritalin.
Before leaving the Gibson, I shook hands with Cody Bender, apologized for missing him again and offered a “maybe next time.” I’d love to return to the Gibson Showcase. I’ll have to attend one of Aljon’s mixers. Keep sending me those invites, Mr. Local Buzz!