Monday, March 21, 2005

A Band I Like

We saw my favorite band play on Friday night. I had been looking forward to it for months; I hardly have any favorite bands anymore--at least the kind that are currently performing and recording music. It makes me feel like a snob, not liking 99% of all new music. (Well, that's an exaggeration--I am indifferent to 50% of all new music). I get so picky because everything sounds the same to me. Why listen to a band that sounds like Joy Division or Blondie when you can hear the real thing?

No band sounds like Oneida, though. I'm not sure if any band would want to sound like Oneida, actually. They've been around for ten years, but I only became aware of them when they opened for Kinski at Bottom of the Hill about two years ago. We were only there for the Kinski; I hadn't even paid attention to the opening bands. A bunch of us were sitting in the pool table area chatting it up and waiting for Kinski to start when this blaring, choppy organ drone started up...and didn't stop. It was all messed up, semi-tuneless shout-singing and spazzy bleats of guitar and keyboard. Plus it was LOUD, and that's always good. I'm constantly hoping I'll get smacked with a good wall of sound at a show.

Oneida is more like a billy club of sound, arty-druggy and, as Glenn Danzig would say, really HEAVY. I became obsessed with them that night, at how much noise they could wrangle up for a three-piece (drums, bass, guitar). They once had, like, five or six members, I think, and they used to be more straight-ahead blues/psychedelia with a hugely dorky overtones.

I have most of Oneida's recorded output, now. I don't listen to them as much as I do other stuff, because a little Oneida goes a long way. It's like the difference between prosecco and grappa.

The last time Oneida toured in California, I was in Mexico. Okay, I'd rather be in Mexico, but still. I was pissed. (hmm, I'm going to finish this later...)

3 Comments:

Blogger .. said...

i like the shirt, with the bong smoking devil up on it. Reminds me of high school, in the 70's..

10:54 AM  
Blogger Joe said...

Yeah, your Oneida from Brooklyn, NY, we are Oneida T-shirt from Brooklyn, NY, Oneida, Oneida T-shirt with bong-toking demon thing from Brooklyn, NY Oneida is cool, plus it's green too. Oneida from Brooklyn NY, we are Oneida.

11:09 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oneida? Am not familiar. They are like i guess this local group from up north. Cannot remembetr the name. I don't like them though.

10:15 AM  

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