Some guys buy cars in the throws of their midlife crisis. Some leave their wives for younger women. Radio host Jon Bernhardt throws absurd shows. Wednesday night at TT the Bears, viagra Bernhardt brought a list of legends together to celebrate his birthday, order raise money for WMBR and generally rock out. The bill was a handful of extraordinary acts: the great Barbra Manning, case Dump, and the Bevis Frond all one after another. It was gonna be a strange night.
For starters, I’m 99% sure I’m the only person at the show last night who was under 21, let alone under the age of 45. I didn’t really know what to expect from the night, to be honest I was mostly trying to see Dump. Barbra Manning kicked the night off with incredible charm and enthusiasm. She had just started a job as a chemistry teacher, and this was her spring break, and thus the only time she could travel to perform. I heard a rumor once that if you don’t jack off for a really long time, when you finally do it’s really amazing (god knows I’ve never tested this). Watching Barbra-new-chemistry-teacher-Manning play her heart out made me feel like this perhaps applies to playing live shows too. After seeing a lifetime of apathetic twenty something indie rockers with stage presences that mirror angsty teens being woken for school, Barbra Manning’s brilliant, nonstop smiling was refreshing to say the least. The audience was equally excited- it seems that a lot of huge fans of her career came out of the woodwork to see her in person. Manning busted out some hits and really wailed on her sparkly guitar. I wonder if her students know how much of a bad ass she is.
Okay lets talk about Dump. Dump has been James McNew’s recording project outside of Yo La Tengo since 1991, and in that time he’s put out around 20 albums. Although he’s released ample material, there’s limited information about Dump online, and only a few live videos so we didn’t really know what to expect. As if that didn’t leave us with enough suspense, this was going to be Dump’s first Boston appearance. McNew took the stage, but then ended up introducing birthday boy Jon Bernhardt. Disappointed that Dump’s set was delayed a few more minutes, I made a joke to my friend about how funny it would be if Jon Bernhardt just played theremin. Then Jon Bernhardt played theremin. To be exact, he covered “Video Killed the Radio Star”, completely straight-faced. He was wearing a South Park tie. By the time I could fully grasp what I was seeing, it was over. Then Dump played for real. James was solo, sitting with his 12 string guitar and various gadgets, including a strange box with what looked like broom bristles sticking out of it.
My new favorite thing in the world is seeing Dump play live.
My new least favorite thing in the world is when people talk through Dump’s set.
James powered through his set, making each song bleed into the next. There were no pauses for applause. It was as if he didn’t need it. Although I was aggravated with how many people were talking while he was playing, he ignored the chatter and focused. McNew was alone on stage but the sound he produced was unbelievable. Every sound became layered, the melodies he produced thundered and clapped with moments of fuzz becoming electric with pedal effects. Songs formed out of these raw sounds, and then melted back as the sounds that created said melodies separated again. Downstairs, there was some sort of very bass heavy show going on, and occasionally the floor would violently shake, but at moments it felt as if the rumble of Dump’s set were so powerful that it caused a small earthquake. It was enchanting.
But then we were shaken from our Dump induced trance by…yeah you guessed it more theremin. The night closed with some very soulful psychedelic grooves via the Bevis Frond, who flew all the way from England to be part of the celebration. It was worth the trip.