Secret Machines/The Fire Theft/Mellowdrone
Saturday, June 5, 2004 @ The Mod Club, Toronto

Having never heard of the Secret Machines before two weeks ago it was surprising to see that they were playing a show so soon after appearing in several small publications. More surprising was the fact that they were the opening act for Fire Theft and the fact that Fire Theft were getting no publicity for a show they were supposedly headlining. However the fact remained that Secret Machines were a recent hot ticket and Fire Theft were ex Sunny Day Real Estate so why not check it out.

Mellowdrone, a band out of L.A., opened up the show at 7:00 pm while onlookers sat in classy tables that lined the room neatly. It sort of felt like the scene in 24 Hour Party People at the Sex Pistols show, there was a buzz of energy in the air like something special was happening. In reality everyone was just stoned and the Mod Club theatre has pop art murals of David Bowie and other future boys from the 60’s and 70’s so you just thought you were in 1977. Mellowdrone fit there name fairly well, their music was kind of boring with too many influences falling out of their instruments. The lead singer also looked a lot like Joe Strummer but that’s probably not his fault. During their final number they let loose with some energy which left everyone in a hyper mood. It’s kind of a cheap move to do a mediocre set and then let loose and trick all the stoners into thinking you had a high energy show because they can’t remember the start. Kind of smart if you want to sell cd’s at the merch table though.

A step outside for a smoke led to a meeting with some underage maladaptive music listeners that were denied entry. Instead of getting angry they took matters into their own hands sat outside the stage door to catch a few spare notes which was incredibly cool. Maybe it’s just the new generation experimenting with this concept of concert attendance or maybe teenagers of the 90’s were just dumb but when I couldn’t get into a show I just complained and said dickhead things like “since when does age have anything to do with music” and then pouted in a Weezer shirt.

A step back into the show found an intimate table some domestic beer and a feedback buzz on a dimly lit stage that signified a voyage into the raw sound of the past. With a look and sound reminscant of late 1960’s psychedelic noise the group exploded into a fifteen minute opening song that had myself and many others awe stricken and wondering how much more we could handle. That was only the first song. The band led you up and down in tempo and one point guitarist Josh Garza was playing only one chord in the middle of three loud hits of the crash symbols by drummer Benjamin Curtis. That was repeated about thirty times with the occasional ambient addition of melody played on the organ by Benjamin’s brother Brandon. With a raw and simple sound like this arranged perfectly with excellent musical ideas it was hard not too imagine that everyone wasn’t having profound introspective thoughts such as my group was. While staring into the three large pot lights placed behind each member of the band that solely lit the stage I suddenly was struck with a fantastic film idea just as my friend Paul cried out “I just figured out how I’ll finish my essay!”

By the end of the Secret Machines mysterious set it felt like we were only shells of what we once were but really we just needed more to drink. With a couple of saucy little concoctions refueling our high running emotions it was now time for the final act of the evening (and I do mean evening at 9:30pm) Fire Theft. I was vague on The Fire Theft’s music before entering the show other than knowing that they were comprised of ex-Sunny Day Real Estate members Jeremy Enigk, William Goldsmith and Nate Mendel. So it was basically Sunny Day with a new name. If you didn’t already know the bassist from the Foo Fighters, Nate, headed up half the rhythm section in Sunny Day and it was extremely surprising when he walked out on stage with the band not knowing that he was in Fire Theft at the time. All the attempted suicides who were into emo in 1994 were probably wetting their pants and ruining their vegan skate shoes. The unsurprising part was that they sounded a lot like the mid-nineties punk influenced alt-rock they always played, but hey who doesn’t like that huh? This wasn’t an all ages show though so everyone in attendance remembered 1996. What else can be said about the Fire Theft though; their music had a good edge to it with some pop sensibility but I can’t say that the Secret Machines didn’t upstage them a bit. The two bands didn’t really belong together on the same bill; the dynamic was too different, from 1960’s psychedelic sound to 1990’s post skate punk. All the bands had a good sound, some fresher than others, but who cares, everyone at the show was hammered wearing their black hoodies and beards having a good time. — Jackson Main