Mothers of Invention
I've leaned against the barricade for Mogwai and Los Lobos, touched the stage for Guided By Voices and Slint and sat in the front row for Phish and Mariah Carey, but I've never literally sat at a performer's feet until last Wednesday night.
First, I had to play the message back two or three times to make sure I wasn't dreaming. "Spencer, it's Aaron Thompson from Meat over Moscow. I'm gonna blow your mind ... the Acid Mothers are playing in Las Vegas tomorrow ... at a house ... how crazy is that?"
Pretty freaking crazy, let me tell you. Last time I saw Japanese psych-rock collective Acid Mothers Temple, back in 2002, they nearly blew out the windows at Cafe Roma. Now, the band—which typically plays clubs like New York's Knitting Factory and San Francisco's Bottom of the Hill—would be setting up in a Las Vegas living room, in the residence of two members of local outfit Flaspar?
Turns out the Acid Mothers had an off night between Salt Lake City and Tucson and contacted Thompson to see about staging a last-minute Vegas gig. With just 30 hours notice, an honest-to-goodness venue was out of the question, so the group agreed to play the first house show in a career stretching back to the mid-1990s, and crash at the pad before setting out for Arizona the following morning.
I arrived around 8 p.m. and staked out a seat on the carpeted floor, just as Los Angeles experimental four-piece the Antarcticans—AMT's touring partners—launched into an appropriately droney opening set. By the time the "headliners" hit the "stage," a crowd of around 50 had gathered—all through last-minute word of mouth—stretching into the kitchen, a bathroom doorway and out the front door. (I found out later that donations totalling about $200 were collected for the band.)
After expressing some concern for the neighbors, the headlining foursome—guitarist and leader Kawabata Makoto, synth man and guitarist Higashi Hiroshi, bassist Tsuyama Atsushi and drummer Eku Eiji—performed as if the makeshift setting was the Fillmore. Their long hair swinging against their flowing, dark robes, the four men tested the limitations of the walls and Flaspar's P.A. system, which held up to the dense sonic onslaught remarkably well.
The lengthy "Pink Lady Lemonade" highlighted the hour-long set, with Makoto's repeated silvery riff serving as the backdrop to Atsushi's bassline gymnastics and Hiroshi's subtle guitar volleys. At one point, Atsushi grabbed a nearby electric fan and pawed at his instrument with it, creating a signature, unexpected moment on a night that felt entirely, wonderfully spontaneous.
House Party On
Speaking of house shows, the website for San Diego indie-pop trio the Robot Ate Me lists a May 20 Vegas gig, with "Aaron's House" as the venue. Turns out, the Aaron in question is Las Vegas native Aaron Day, and Aaron's House is, well, Aaron Day's house, at 222 Basic Road in Henderson.
After years spent noticing his favorite acts touring the Southwest without playing Southern Nevada, the 22-year-old Day is taking matters into his own house. He's set up three live dates for the premises, beginning with a May 14 bill comprised of Colorado's Love Letter Band, singer-songwriter Joseph Childress and local artists Las Vegas Club and Jack Wilcox, and intends to expand the schedule further if everything goes smoothly.
"A lot of good bands have pretty much ignored Vegas in the past, and I've talked to booking agents who've said it's not worth it to send their bands down here," Day says. "But I really want to bring them out here."
Day, who says he plays the drums "extremely loud" and has never had problems with neighbor complaints, will let turnout determine whether he sets ups shows inside his home or in his spacious back yard. Parking will be available in an alley directly behind the property.
"It's just an experiment that I'm doing, and like any experiment it could go right or wrong," he admits. "It's a risk, but I let the bands know about it ahead of time."
Along with the Robot Ate Me, the May 20 show will feature Wilcox and fellow local act Dreaming of Lions. Utah singer-songwriter Drew Danburry will headline a June 6 program that will also include Audrey Debauchery, Las Vegas Club, Jacob Smigel and Justin Evans.
"I really hope this works out," says Day, who wants to bring in such groups as Mount Eerie and Sunburned Hand of the Man. "I guess we'll see how it goes on the 14th."
Clinic Closed For Business
Sound Clinic, the weekly underground music event at Krave Lounge, has been cancelled. The Wednesday night promotion, created by Pedi Amiri, featured DJs spinning alternative dance music not typically heard in Vegas clubs or bars, including industrial, electronic body movement, trip-hop, punk and gothic. Local and touring bands often graced the raised stage inside the velvet-draped lounge, including The Pandas, Flaspar and, last week, Slick Idiot—a new band comprised of former KMFDM members.
"In the end, it comes down to these events just not being able to generate the kind of numbers the club is looking for," Amiri says.
Sound Clinic was one of two weekly promotions Amiri oversaw at the lounge, which is connected to Krave nightclub, the only gay nightlife destination on the Strip (adjacent to the Aladdin hotel). The other event, Friday night's gothic/industrial party Sanctuary, will continue, as it has found a solid following with Vegas' creatures of the night. While the vinyl-and-fishnet set that frequents Sanctuary has done so despite the stigma of "Krave" being equivalent to "gay club," Amiri admits Sound Clinic's attendance may have been affected by that preconception.
"I truly cannot expect this world to put its criticism and cynicism down," he says. "However, what I am trying to do is build events which apply to the open-minded."
Amiri will continue to direct Sanctuary and work on other projects with Krave, though he said he intends to find another, more suitable location for Sound Clinic.