the setlist. procured for me by one of the nice guitar players whose name i did not get. actually, it was the bassist, whose name i still did not get. nice man. good set.
destroyer are (is?) (usually, as i am fake british, i use are for bands, but destroyer is a band that i typically think of as just dan bejar plus random people, so i'm hesitant about using the are)(random thought there) awesome. they/he played last night in minneapolis and it was a fantastic show. it was a co-headline gig with magnolia electric company, which i did not stay for. they played for about an hour and played all those songs in bold black sharpie marker except for holly going lightly and the crossover. i kind of wish they had played the little pen written set, because streethawk II has become one of my favorite songs ever, i think. alas, maybe that is only for when they are the second headliner and have time to play an encore and such.
this was such a different experience than when i saw dan in 2001 (the last time i saw him) and he was playing by himself except for the occasional backup play from the main band whose name escapes at the moment. there were five people at the front at that show, and maybe three people sitting in the back of the venue. the five of us were solid supporters and four of us (the two others that i knew, me, and the random guy i stood next to) were there last night. aside from us four, there were at least a few hundred people there, which made me happy for dan but made me think that the secret is out and people now know about destroyer. sometimes, it's good to have these things a well-kept secret, though i suppose it's good for dan's pocketbook to actually have people show up to these things.
dan looks different, too. aside from his stonewashed, tapered pants, he looked quite dapper with his curly out of control hair and lovely raglan sweater.
dan circa 2001:
(with me and my ex)
dan circa yesterday:
i did not get a chance to talk to him, but i'm sure i would have said hi and we would have had an awesome conversation that might have gone something like this:
me: "hi dan. you're awesome"
dan: "thanks"
me: "how about a high five?"
dan: "sure"
[high five]
me: "thanks! talk to you later!"
dan: "bye"
it probably would have been great. it's pretty great even imaginarily.
more photos:
i am only posting the blurred ones. straight lines are for amateurs.
right?
anyhow, destroyer was good. i would highly recommend destroyer's rubies to people, as it will probably be one of the best albums of 2006 (though so far both quasi and howe gelb do come ahead of it)(as does neko case)(it IS still good, though. i swear!) in my list that i will compile eventually in my head and never share with anyone because apparently i forget to actually chronicle things like that.
however, if you really want to hear destroyer in their prime, check out streethawk: a seduction , because you just cannot go wrong with that.
