Wooden Wand/gig report

Best fucking band around: Wooden Wand & the Vanishing Voice. 'Bout time these freaks are having some tunes see the light of day (aside from ridiculously limited CDRs and LPs and what have you). Lysergic sick, tuned in to the heavens, singing of something thicker and deeper than the walls and foundations of everything we've built. Fuck, these dudes are onto something deep. Check their records. Please. This is the shit that shakes the sky.

Oh, yeah, I gotta give a report of the big Gary Higgins/Ben Chasny blowout last weekend at Tonic. Place was sold out, which was incredible given that Higgs hadn't played a gig in 30 years (it's not like Jimi Fucking Hendrix rose from the dead, ya know?). Great crowd: hipsters, tape-trading old music dudes, band family members looking incredibly happy and oh so out of place in dingy Tonic. Chasny opened with a set of solo acoustic guitar/vocals tunes. He seemed pissed at people talking near the bar, but the anger or whateverthefuck pushed him on and out and he played the best set I've ever seen. There were moments during that gig when I honestly felt the fucking roof was going to open up and we'd be sucked out into the sky.

Higgins and band (keys, lead guitar, cello and rhythm guitar -- played by his son) sounded spot on. Who knew what to expect. 30-someodd years since these dudes has last played. So much time slipped by. Yet, the set was just incredible. Higgins (alternating between guitar and drums) sounded great. The band hit every note and was clearly having a ball being on stage. All in all, a truly wonderful night.

Let's hope for many, many more.