Monday, June 26, 2006

Have You Hugged Your Pudding Today?

Approximately 20 years after forgoing the opportunity to see them play in downtown Houston for free, I forked over 30 bucks to see Sonic Youth for the first time Friday night at Stubb’s.

They definitely could’ve played longer, but they sounded great. I haven’t listened to a Sonic Youth album since 1995's Washing Machine, but the new songs off of Rather Ripped (particularly “Do You Believe in Rapture?”) were enticing as well. Perhaps there's something to those four-star reviews.

My old UT student radio pal and former roommate Greg “The Greggae Giles” Giles was in town from North Carolina on Saturday. We dropped by an early evening party at Bearded Lady Printing to see Oh, Beast! before winding up at Room 710 for their 6th anniversary show featuring Pong and Hug.

Pong delivered the solid boogie-down goods as usual along with an improved light show. There was plenty of spirited dancing throughout their set. Meanwhile, Hug’s carnival of the perverse was enhanced by two dancers who graphically enacted the song “Shit Sex” with chocolate pudding. I haven't been that simultaneously grossed out and doubled over with laughter by a rock show in quite a while.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I hadn't heard a SY album since Washing Machine either. Just lost interest in the band. But I really like Rather Ripped. It's basically a pop record using the same made-up chords they always use. It's surprisingly winsome in spots. Definitely worth hearing.

Michael