by your roving reporter, Thornswrath
I don't even know where to start, having just gone through a blur of concerts over the last several weeks, beginning with First Aid Kit back in May followed by Future Islands and then Faun Fables opening for Bonnie "Prince" Billy at an intimate, upscale venue in Basalt, Colorado called TACAW. But it all started three days before that, when I realized one of my dreams by getting to see IV & the Strange Band perform live, on tour with VOLK (also from Nashville) and Detroit rock city's own The Goddamn Gallows, far as I'm concerned the #1 most important and best tour of the year, so sue me.
In a year chock full of litigious bastards drooling for more blood and too many amazing and talented artists emerging from every pore and pot hole in the landscape, to say it's difficult keeping up seems to be quite an understatement.
But see that's the way it's always been, ne'er mind there are more bands and artists and genres and subgenres of music than ever before, and forget about the internet and how it helps keep track of the ever expanding output.
Each of us individuals were born into this life to walk through it in our own footsteps, see it through out own eyes, smell the bullshit through our own nostrils, feel the savage beauty and tender rage surrounding us, and to hear the music where we can find it, if and when we have the time to, for our own edification.
That's why I'm here on this wacked, green Earth. I paid $100 for a booth at this show [Metro Music Hall in SLC, Wed night, July 13, 2023] when it turns out there weren't enough people knowin' about it to have warranted that. I don't regret a single penny spent.
I'd even forgotten that I'd bought three tix - thinking it was only two, lol. Gareth came with me, and we had a great night out. The third ticket remained unused, because no one even wandered over to check out what was going on. I would've given it away. The place wasn't full at all, but a just about right sizeable crowd showed up in the Gallows' wake, that it turned out to be a fun and raucous evening. That third ticket belonged to my best friend Greg Grub, far as I'm concerned. His spirit was there with us, alright. This is the dustiest damned show Shaun Grub ever done seen. The only way it could've gotten dustier is if Drivin'n'Cryin' were playin'.
Later Coleman sang the title track, letting us know it was about his 13 yr old dog. I'm a tell you something. We're talking about IV & the Strange Band's sophomore effort here, and it's going to be every bit as good as one could possibly hope to expect.
*Stay tuned to this blog for more photos of IV & the Gallows etc.
What's going on is, hardly anyone I've spoken with and met knows hide nor hair of Coleman and his amazing new band. While I'm busy typing this away on my blog, legendary history is being made. I had all five of them sign my original yellow vinyl ed. of Southern Circus (I left the vinyl disc safely at home, and brought in the jacket for them to autograph). I was wearing my original Cancerslug shirt - with the first half of the band's name almost eroded away - the werewolf hunched over a graveyard shirt -- and Coleman said "Nice Cancerslug shirt" to me when we met. We talked for awhile by the merch stand, and he told me he'd be happy to sign my copy of the album after I brought it in from my car. See, he's clearly an underground kid still, but even hitting thirty now he's still 100% bonafide underground kid in every way, just like me. It's people like him and Alex Story keeping the real heart of the underground scene alive and beating. I know there's a lot of others I can't keep up with, but that's just one reason why IV & CS are two of my favorite bands on the planet right now. And just today Cancerslug dropped their long awaited and eagerly anticipated Nth album Fucker! I preordered the CD/Shirt package deal, and it done shipped already so I can't wait for that to arrive.
Anyhow, back to the Metro Music Hall for Volk, IV & the Strange Band, and the Goddamn Gallows. I noted while in there, that the only people wearing battle vests with patches all on 'em were Coleman, Mikey Classic and I, pretty much. Idk some more may have shown up later in the show, but it's getting to be a sort of post Gen-X thing. I think it's cool, and over he past few weeks I've collected four badass patches to add to my battle jackets.
See, there's the IV & the Strange Patch, lower left. It's the sickest patch of the bunch. Except lower right we have the Goddamn Gallows pure leather patch, which was five bucks, or ten bucks for their iron on fabric patch. No contest.
And the VOLK patch is awesome. That leaves arguably the coolest patch of all time. I got that Bonnie "Prince" Billy patch directly from Oscar, who worked Will's merch table, and who told me he's the artist for Wolf of the Cosmos, which was for sale on the table. It turns out I already have all the vinyl being offered, but I bought the patch and these 2 pens that feature Will's head floating upside down to the bottom when you flip the pen, replacing his head with a werewolf's. Oscar advised me that these were all that was left from five years ago, and their ink had dried up by now. I bought two anyhow, a blue one and a red one. Then Oscar told me he was the one who designed the BpB patch. I told him its really a brilliant design. That patch and the two pens are great mementoes from what turned out to be an unparalleled and terrific show. And that's the story of how I earned four merit badge rock'n'roll patches during the summer of '23. The long, strange trip moving down this road feeling fine continues. I've got a lot more music experiences to relate, both live in concert and in the form of listening to studio albums, usually on vinyl but not always, for my imaginary readers to anticipate here on this blog, so hold out for that as I try to get all my shit together in this life whose white water rapids are only increasing in turbulence as the waters of this raging river continue to rise.
After the show, I asked Will if I could take a selfie with him. He smiled and easily obliged me, so here we are together after a most fabulous evening of music. My heart was fulfilled.
P.S.
But our adventure wasn't over, yet. Shasta took Zane to the car after Will's set ended, since he was tired out, after loving every minute of the Faun Fable set and Bonnie Prince's. We drove the forty minutes back to our cheap hotel in Silt, then the next morning, woke up and began the four hour drive to Colorado Springs. After driving an hour or so, and just before getting to Denver, I pulled over at a Circle K for a rest stop to get some drinks. Who did Zane and I see walking in there but Will Oldham.
He went into the rest room moments after Zane and I had stepped out of it. When he came back out, I smiled and said "Will, hi!" and he was just as surprised to see us as we were. The cool thing was I got to introduce him to Zane, who missed out the evening prior. The new album is called Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You. Will sang the title track, which doesn't appear on the album, citing it as an industry trick some artists like to pull. I got to tell him that song was his "Houses of the Holy," and so I expect to see it on the album after this next one. Which, by the way, from the sounds of the several new songs off it he performed, are in line on the level of his classic albums from '99 to '03. We're talking I See A Darkness, Master & Everyone, Ease Down The Road level of album. Nowadays, he rarely, if ever disappoints, what's left is to wait lazily until he catches another updraft and soars again, pivoting like Icarus before the Sun. I'm telling you all, this next album is going to be the one. Take my word for it.
Keeping secrets will destroy you.
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