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The Evens at Square Records in Akron
Don Austin and CD Truth at The Lime
Spider
06-18-04
After spending most of the day
in Akron dropping off copies of the latest Utter Trash print zine, I figured
since I was already in Akron, I might as well catch a couple of shows.
My first stop was Square Records on West Market Street. The tiny
record store in Highland Square was packed as full as it could be for this
show. I'm pretty sure this was the first area appearance for Ian Mackaye's
new band, The Evens. Of course, The Evens really shouldn't be referred to as
Ian Mackaye's band. Drummer/vocalist Amy Farina is just as important a part
of this duo as her better known band mate. Whether singing lead or backing
Ian up with harmonies, her vocals were excellent, as was her drumming.
Although some songs were played with a good deal of intensity, overall The
Evens are a fairly quiet band.
The band played a laid back, casual set that lasted
just short of an hour. Ian joked with the audience, and also explained some
of the ideas behind the band's lyrics. For their closing number, Ian asked
the crowd to sing along with the Evens on a refrain of, "the police will not
be excused, the police will not behave". Afterwards, the duo stuck around to
sign autographs and talk to fans. All in all, a very satisfying
performance.
The night was still young, and
I was up for some more live music, so I headed on down to The Lime Spider on
Akron’s Main Street. The start time had been pushed back due to
The Evens show, so I arrived in time to see Don Austin’s opening set of
brutal hardswan song. Vocalist Larry Gargus acknowledged the rumor by
saying, “This is our last show. Until tomorrow, when we play
Pittsburgh.” So have no fear. If you missed their full on
assault of a show this time, you should still have plenty of chances to see
the band in the future. I recommend you do so.
CD Truth was up next.
Vocalist/guitarist Jeff was dressed in a clown outfit. I’m not sure
what, if any, significance there was to his outfit, but it added a colorful
visual element to their typically fine performance. The band squeezed
in all four of their Akron related songs (“Follow Me to Akron”, “King of the
Highland Square Losers”, “We’ve Got the Blimp”, and “I Hate Route 8” for
those keeping score) along with plenty of other great tunes, including a
cover of Devo’s “Whip It”. (Bob Ignizio)
For pictures click
here.
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