If I Had, The State of Nature, The City We Live In, Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk & Flood the Sun
Tuesday, May 19th at The Cretin Hop
Tuesday night started out with a local band known as If I Had. Three kids including a female singer! There were two things that stroke me like a bolt of lighting about this band. Number one the male front-man had a super cool triangle white polka dot mess of a guitar, jealous? I am. Number two the male front-man was dancing and had a load of expressions on his face. He looked like he was there to perform and there to have a good time.
I will say this kindly but the chick-a-dee in the band needs a bit more of a personality. I only say this because the guy is off the wall in a low-key way. It seemed awkward to watch them at the same time. However If I Had’s female front-lady had some kickin’ vocals and cute shoes. Plus she could scream – watch out! At first If I Had was rough around the edges but as their set progressed and they picked up the temp-o it sounded better and was more fun. I know more fun is not a word, but who doesn’t want MORE FUN!
The man who stole the show for the night was The State of Nature. The State of Nature stood on the floor of the cretin, not the stage, with his ukulele around his neck. Held up by a piece of yarn if i may add. The State of Nature after the show was so excited that he had just put on his best show ever, and he did. He owned it! Surrounded by his friends singing along and dancing, how could an artist not have a great set.
There was plenty of rhyming, high-fiving, and the State of Nature. His friend (who also works at the Cretin) Willie rocked it on the water jug/drums and when he sang along during the Valentines Day song. Willie even joined in for a song on his punk rock stickered out ukulele. The State of Nature was worth my $5 for the night and I recommend you catch this kid around town when he has a show next. Who knows maybe it will top last nights! Remember “…were not the kids sitting on the couch!”
The City We Live In sprinkled themselves on the Cretin floor as well, featuring acoustic guitars, a cello, and a ukulele… they serenaded the Cretin. I didn’t ever expect to see an acoustic show at the Cretin, it was a little cool and a little weird – in a good way. The City We Live in sounded serene, it took me by surprise when these soft smooth vocals came out of a tall punk rock kid. I loved it! Everyone sat around them on the floor and it turned into an intimate musical date with The City We Live In. I know you will be able to catch The City We Live In because the city that they do live in is….. wait for it… Spokane.
Swear Andy Warhol was in Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk. Super skinny, big blonde hair with the bangs, black skinny pants, and a black turtleneck. I don’t know if that was what the kid was going for but, it looked like it. The only downer about Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk was that they took a while to step-up. When you are used to having a quick turnaround at the Cretin 45 minutes can seem like 2 hours. I do understand that they have lights and pedals and jazz to set-up though so I can’t complain too much! It was worth the wait. Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk did play on the floor guess it was the trend for the night. Stages… psh. From the first noise out of Baby Birds Don’t Drink Milk, they didn’t stop once on their set. It was just song into song into song. Kind of badass. It was a mix-mash of electric snap, crackle, and pop. The kids at the Cretin dug it and it was cool of the baby birds to drop by T.C.’s nest.
Flood the Sun flooded my ears with punk rock music. Holy Lord, they never stopped. It was just bent over strummin’ like they were playing Guitar Hero on expert trying to beat the Devil. Flood the Sun has only been on tour for 1 week and a 1/2, and last night was their second night with a crowd. After hearing experimental music and acoustic music it seemed perfect to have the night end with a fast playing punk/rock band. The two microphones faced each other and the guys were playing towards each other. It looked cool when they were bouncing all over the place. One of the singers accidentally bumped into the other singer and caused his mouth to bleed. I think that describes the movement during their set. I would see these three guys from New Mexico any day of the year! Wouldn’t have spent my $5 on a Tuesday night anywhere else.
The mosh pit looked like a giant blender since all the punk rockers had silver studs on their clothes. I asked and I guess it is quite the process to get them on your clothes. I wish I had patience to do it, it looks nifty!
