(TV) RFTT in Austin

[Luis Salinas <lsalinas1@austin.rr.com>]

"This isn't a punk band, this is a real band."

Rocket from the Tombs played Austin last night, and although the show 
nearly ended prematurely, it has to rank among the most outstanding 
performances I've ever seen.
The venue was less than ideal, a roofed-over but essentially outdoor 
stage with temperatures in the 36-40 degree range.  The band (esp. 
David Thomas) seemed in a foul mood at the start of the show.  Some 
idiot sprayed beer or water onto the stage near the end of the first 
song, and the band halted.  A stern warning was given--any more of that 
and the band would leave.  I'm not sure anymore who said the quote 
above; it might have been Richard Lloyd.  They managed two more songs 
before some other idiot committed the same crime.  The band stopped 
playing and left the stage.  (The guilty party was bodily removed from 
the club).

After several minutes, the band came back on.  With added security at 
the edges of the stage, and some in the crowd, Thomas told the audience 
that we would all do a time-shift that would take us back 15 minutes.  
The band re-started their set, and although at least two other people 
were removed from the crowd (drunk girl breaking bottles on the floor; 
mohawked guy spraying the audience) the show went on uninterrupted.

And they were so great ... maybe it was because of the outstanding 
repertoire of songs or maybe because of the incredible musicianship of 
the players, or probably because of a synergy of both factors, but they 
rocked so intensely that my wife (who admittedly doesn't get out much) 
said afterwards that she didn't need to ever hear any live music again 
because the experience was so complete.  Lloyd in particular was in 
fine form and seemed to really enjoy playing the songs.  The highlights 
for me were "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" and "Final Solution".

My ears are still ringing, so I'm holding off on listening to the 
Rocket Redux CD we picked up at the show.

I'm also thinking this may be one of the last times I go out to see a 
band like this in a venue like this.  My last two concert experiences 
(Wire last year, and this) have been marred by boorish audiences, who 
want to talk during the show and thrash around like it was 1980 or 
something.  I don't feel safe when people are slamming into me and I 
don't enjoy it.  I especially worry about my wife, who is much smaller 
than I, getting hurt.  I guess that makes me officially an old fart but 
I really hate it when these idiots ruin things for everyone.

ls
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