Thursday, October 13, 2005

Gang of Four

If you had a vendetta against Austin rock critics, you could've killed most all of 'em with one well-placed incindiary device at the Gang of Four show at Emo's last night.

The showroom was as packed up tight like a big SXSW bill. Gang of Four sounded good, playing all the influential early material like "To Hell With Poverty," "Natural's Not In It" and "Anthrax." For a $20 show, though, they didn't play long enough. Just a one-song encore and that was that. Dead Motley Sex Maidens drummer Adam Tyner also noted the band was playing at a much slower tempo than in year's past. Nevertheless, it was Gang of Four and it was worth staying out too late on a Wednesday night.

4 comments:

Kat said...

So how did the kids (you know, people born after the release of ENTERTAINMENT!) seem to be liking the show? (This geriatric punk chumped out and stayed home.) Luke said it seemed a bit off, although it was still GOF, and therefore still good... but he was there in 1980, so what does he know?

Anonymous said...

I was too busy hangin' with my fellow geezers to notice the reaction of kids, but the overall crowd response was vociferously approving. I wish I could've been there myself at that legendary Club Foot show on Election Night 1980.

Kat said...

geezers RULE OK!

and you know you're a geezer if you use the phrase "rule ok"...

Yes, in 1980 you were what, almost 12? I was 15. And didn't know anyone in my San Antonio high school who'd sneak me in. (Anyway, they were all into Rush and Judas Priest -- except for our three famous Ramones groupies.)

Luke said that he stood there outside Emo's waiting for a friend watching people go in thinking "There's one who wasn't born when I went to that 1980 show. There's another one. There's one."

And so it goes.

Anonymous said...

I didn't see a lot of "kids" personally, but I was standing back next to all of the other aging new-wavers. I think that the "kids" would rather see AC-DC or Flock of Seagulls... Go4 didn't even sell out the club. Can the Emo's sound person be arrested for mental anguish? It's one of the worst sounding rooms in Texas. I still thought that the band was great, worth every penny for the babysitter.