I had a much different impression of the Evens. Far from "blah", each song is sort of like a rich, tightly coiled haiku, passionate but also playful. The songs are spare and stripped down, but they're very melodic. (Listen to "Shelter Two" in particular.) After 15 plus years of groundbreaking work with Fugazi, (culminating in perfection with "The Argument") it's refreshing to hear Ian singing unexpected harmonies and amusing lyrics. And his hollow-body baritone guitar sounded just suh-weet to me. I thought it was pretty much a perfect show with fresh new material.
There wasn't really any "raging" against the man, but a lot of really funny between-song commentary from Ian that had little to do with politics. I always knew he had a good sense of humor, but the heaviness of the Fugazi shows/crowd didn't really let him show that side, I guess. Also, he jumped down off the stage after the show and stayed for a half-hour or more talking with every last person who wanted to say Hi. When's the last time you saw a high-profile musician do that after a show?
Indeed, he wore cargo shorts. I guess he never got the scenester memo that these are a no-no. Just to clarify, is it just shorts in general or is it the "cargo" aspect that spoils the music?
the between-song commentary was definitely political. he was talking about the patriot act and racial profiling... how is that not political?
i have tons of respect for mackaye. i've just never much cared for his delivery.
as for the cargo shorts, they have nothing to do with the music. i didn't say they did.
Commenting by HaloScan
