Kipworld

El and I went to see Guided By Voices at the Hideout’s Block Party last night. I was freaking out because they were going on at six and playing until seven and there was a 10$ cover and it was 6:15 and I couldn’t find a parking spot. Finally I parked behind the Aetna building, like everyone else, figuring that Aetna wouldn’t be doing too much checking of their lot on a Saturday.

We got into the place and worked and weaved our way to where we could see the band. And they started just as we got into position, so hey, perfect timing.

I only knew a few of the songs from stuff I’d gotten off Audiogalaxy and Gnutella. THeir live show had more rock out songs, but they still played more poppy stuff like “Chasing Heather Crazy” and “Teenage FBI.”

Rob Pollard, the lead singer, was definitely drunk. Mira says that when GBV went to Carleton her freshman year, they couldn’t even remember their own songs because they were so trashed. At one point, he had a cigarette and beer and microphone all in hand. He would swing his mic by its cord and reel it up in time for a chorus. He’d also toss beer bottles and catch them. Final bit of showmanship: he’d raise a hand at key lines and all these people in the audience (the die hards) would salute back.

Unlike the indie crowd at Belle and Sebastian, this indie crowd was much less concerned with how they looked or how indie they were or how well they knew the band’s material. They were just rocking. Which was cool.