  Mr.Airplane Man and The Husbands @ BOTH, Pretty Girls Make Graves @ Cafe du Nord 05-06-04 Show Ho I'm a show ho. But like I say, I'm a ho in that I go to a lot of shows, but then not a ho, because I'm discriminate. I maintain standards. Yesterday I achieved a new show ho low (or high) in that I went to two shows in one night.
I started off at Bottom of the Hill to see The Husbands and Mr. Airplane Man. urlLink The Husbands include Sadie (formerly of The Vanishing) on guitar and another girl who sings and has a missing tooth. Not the eyeteeth, the Jewel snaggletooth one. And there's one more girl who sings back-up and shakes the maracas. There were two dudes they were playing with too, but they don't count. * They were garage-y, rockabilly and fun. The ladies wore long vintage evening gowns and wouldn't look out of place in a John Waters movie. I think the missing tooth adds trashy mystique. I love local bands! urlLink Mr.Airplane Man were so tight and a testament to the power of rockin ladies.
Some ladies I'll clap for politely, out of respect for the attempt itself and to encourage them to keep practicing--kind of a "you can do it" applause. But M.A.M. had me hootin and hollerin and clapping in like a "You fuckin GO, fuckin ladeez! Fuck yeah!! " I have never seen such precision in a guitarist, such natural talent. She played bluesy riffs like they were nothing, like it was no big deal.
The drummer is a smaller woman whose drumming reveals Meg White as an incompetent fraud. I know that everyone has a crush on Meg White, and so do I, but after seeing this lady, let's all face it: MW is cherubic and cute and all, but her drumming fucking sucks. I've always defended Meg because she's a girl, and it's an advancement to have a lady play drums in such a high-profile band, but it would be even better if she blew everyone away. Meg blows people away because she's appealing and sexy, but can't she be sexy AND able?
M.A.M.
are a garage-blues duo like The White Stripes. When I first read about them in Venus magazine, I though, "Oh great, another White Stripes knock-off band. " Like The Kills, like The Black Keys. But come to think about it, I f'in LOVE The Kills and I LOVE The Black Keys. Jack White started an idea and all these great bands sprung from his model. Thank you Jack White for M.A.M. The only complaint I have about MAM is the singing. The blues melodies are there, but her voice is small and airy and girlish. She can't howl. Jack White can sing so sweetly then howl like a hungry man, but MAM can only sing sweetly.
It's like, Black Keys kind of dirty delta blues, but with the vocals of a 3rd grade girl. There's no urgency or primal sex to her singing. But MAM makes up for the vocal inadequacies by respect-inducing, awe-inspiring playing. Who knows, this may very well translate to CD. MAM, I predict, will be on the lineup for next year's Coachella. And if they're not, then rocknroll is dead. I didn't stay for the headliner, some band whose claim to fame is that the drummer from Metallica likes them.
Anything with a Metallica stamp of approval makes me run for the hills. The hills being Cafe du Nord where urlLink Pretty Girls Make Graves were headlining. I missed their early show at Coachella last Sunday because of the sweltering heat and the 2-hour wait to take a shower. I met up with LingL and her pussy posse and we squeezed up front. PGMG were great, and I have a crush on them as a whole.
A band crush. They're a really attractive band. I love Andrea's smile. *[It bugs me when a band has extra uncredited players. I'll see a pic of The Husbands and think they're an all-girl trio, but then live, there are two dudes in the band too. Or the two back-up dancer/horn players in No Doubt. They're on every tour and add energy to the show, but why don't they get recognized as part of the band? Is it because they're black? Or Pat Smear, who toured with Nirvana in the end, adding another layer of guitar. Why wasn't he a member of Nirvana? ] 
