rone | gig review: kristin hersh @ the attic

Kim, last-minute addition sandollar17, and i got to The Attic a little late, almost halfway into Dolorean's set. They were OK in an alterna-folk-country sort of way, like Wilco or Ryan Adams or the Jayhawks.

Afterwards, The McCarricks set up a video screen and started playing their songs backed by video. The videos were fairly edgy, sometimes in presentation, sometimes in content, sometimes both; the most disturbing one was like a nightmare designed by Dalí if he knew about furries. Their music, though, was quite enjoyable, cello and violin over synthesized music, loud and energetic and matched up perfectly with the video.

Once they were done, i ducked out to buy some earplugs. When i got back, Billy, Kristin's manager and husband, wished all mothers a happy Mother's Day and gave Kristin a smooch. She was joined by her 50 Foot Wave bandmates, Rob and Bernie, and the McCarricks.

In Shock
Wild Vanilla
Day Glo
Under the Gun
Nerve Endings
Gazebo Tree
Your Dirty Answer
Winter
The Cuckoo
Your Ghost
Sugarbaby ("You should watch Bernie during this song, not me." The bass part was really good, but i thought at first that they were gonna play "Civil Disobedience"... don't i wish.)
Listerine
The Thin Man
White Bikini Sand
Encore
Pearl ("I don't know this song.")
Sundrops
The Letter ("I hate this song.")
Hook in Her Head ("This is a song about an old woman who died on a bus.")

I didn't identify "Wild Vanilla" when i heard it, so i went up after the show to ask Kristin about it. She was engaged with another fan, though, but i saw Billy give the set list to another fan. On it, the second song read "Thor Slabisky" (not 100% on the last name). I asked Billy about it, and he said that Kristin had been calling it something different every show, by pulling names from the Newport, RI (where she was raised) phone book. In the encore, she came out alone to play "Pearl", was joined by Martin for "Sundrops", and everyone for the last two songs. The Attic's sound was a little muddy (partly because it was too loud), but it was still a great show.