Little Athletics

Another Thursday night spent down at the old Pony bar. And if I had been unimaginative in choosing a venue then this was more than made up for by the nights second band, Go Genre Everything. These crazy kids play music that, as their name subtly alludes, was confused and erratic. Their second song in was played very much in the style of Do Make Say Think i.e. repeated, surging guitar melody playing counterpoint to a complex bass line, but their very next song was a loud, fast and utterly dreadful clamour of punk, rock and noise. They offhand manner in which they played this completely eclectic blend of musical bombast completely won me over. Furthermore I have never seen a band so completely unpretentious. They weren’t afraid to wear shabbyclothing or to banter at length onstage in a painful, boorish manner. So, Go Genre Everything.

The first band that played were the Bright Yellow Doors. They played their rock and roll music in the old rollicking style. They sounded a bit like the Kings of Leons or the QOTSA. (Good, I managed to save some valuable internet space there though at the expense of clarity if you didn’t decipher the acronym) But I was pretty impressed with this band because their music, if not it’s fashion was actually pretty innovative. This will be a band who I will not actively be avoiding in the coming years. (A high achievement by anyones books.)

It seems as if the headline of the night show was Dane Certificate. This probably (though I’ll never really know) wasn’t justified. He was just a man, with a guitar and a bass drum. What could he do with it, you may well ask. Well, as you would expect. I decided to leave after the second song.

Before I did leave the Pony that night, in favour of spending some quality time watching quizmaster, the Little Athletics played their set. I liked them but in a rare display of autonomy in these matters my friend, A did not. I argued that though they’re music was derivative and though the songwriting was poor it was overshadowed by the quality of their musicianship. He argued that virtuosity is irrelevant to musical merit and that my position was in conflict both to reason and to my own opinions, claiming I just liked them because they were girls. He was probably right on this but whatever, I still liked them.