Chain & The Gang + The Hive Dwellers

I'm a big fan of Ian Svenonious and his bands, and whenever they come to town their performances are always great. I was lucky enough to see The Nation of Ulysses and Cupid Car Club at Jabberjaw, and kind of got to know him after catching The Make-Up a number of times. He gave me a big wet stubbly kiss on the cheek on the second night of a two-night stand at Jabberjaw, and I got to introduce the band onstage at The Troubadour on their last tour with Dub Narcotic Sound System. That time, Ian and Michelle actually stayed at my house. It was a real honor to help them out, because the band's live show was a real force of nature at the time and they were really interesting people.


Two bands later (three if you count Scene Creamers, Weird War, and Scene Creamers a second time), Chain & The Gang played The Smell on Friday night. A lot has happened since The Make-Up so I doubt he remembers me, but his new band's album is incredible and his live show is still phenomenal. It's still got some of the gospel yeh-yeh sound, but is a little more folky in steam-of-consciousness folk manner. Go buy the album from K Records.


Opening the show was Calvin Johnson's new band. I've seen many of Calvin's previous bands including memorable shows by Beat Happening (the infamous show opening for Fugazi at the Country Club in Reseda as well as shows at UCLA and the Che Cafe at UCSD), The Halo Benders (at the Atomic Cafe in Little Tokyo), and a bunch of Dub Narcotic Sound System shows (including a couple times in L.A. when they stayed at my house). Calvin is a pillar in the International Pop Underground for both his bands and his K Records label, and he actually gave me a tour of its offices and studio once when I visited Tae Won Yu in Olympia way back when.


I'd seen Calvin solo a few times over the last few years, but this is the first time a while with a band. (It's hard to tell if he remembers me because he's really hard to read.) If you've never seen him perform live, he has a Johnny Cash baritone, Lux Interior stare, and dance moves like no other. You can't buy anything by The Hive Dwellers yet, but check out Calvin's earlier groups on YouTube and get them all from K as well.

Check out the Ben Clark Photo blog for better pics over the next few days. They'll be worth it.