I blame it all on Sara Miller.
After a long day of deconstructing InDesign files for the latest issue, I wanted to go out and have some fun. City Paper’s own pig-tailed punctuation princess had written a glowing preview of the Black Angels descent onto the Village Tavern. The prospect of a long night being assaulted by Velvet-esque drone punk seemed like a fine idea to me.
I showed up early to scope out the scene and found myself knee deep in the dark underbelly of Trivia Night. The was place was filled with brainy, beer-addled Chucksters. I didn’t know the name of Lou Gosset’s character in Roots (fiddler), but I did know that the number of electrons used by atoms to form compounds is called valence. That’s about all I remember from Chemistry. At the end of the game, the pretty MC called out the rankings of the teams for the grand prize of $225. My favorite team name was ‘I wish this microphone was a penis’.
There was still some time before the first band went on, so I decided to pour some quarters into whatever pinball machine they had. When I got to the back, I noticed two long-haired dudes hovering restlessly around Attack from Mars. I asked them if they wanted team up for a game. One guy eyed the game tentatively, giving me the impression that he didn’t play much pinball. He agreed though, and proceeded to trounce me with a score of A BILLION AND A HALF. (the bumpers alone score a million points per hit)
I didn’t know who they were at the time, but it turns out they were none other than Michael Gerner (the billionaire) and Ivan Burko from the band Vietnam. I found out later that night when they took the stage and delivered a powerful and sublime set of well-crafted tunes.
Their performance was a peak of the night’s transcendant musical onslaught. Dead Confederate opened up with a series of disortion/sustain songs that set the tone for rest of the night. Vietnam then delivered tight ear benders with a solid lyrical payoff. The Black Angels themselves channeled an ethereal performance that tested the limits of the Tavern’s tiny stage.
I left the show feeling transformed.
Here’s some pics:
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 Michael Gerner (the billionaire) and Ivan Burko from Vietnam |
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 Alex Maas and Christian Bland from the Black Angels |
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 Sara worshipping Black Angels |
 Jennifer Raines from the Black Angels |
 Maas, Raines, and Bland from the Black Angels |
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One Comment
the awesomest.