The Early Weekend, I

Global warming and rainy weather joined forces on Thursday evening, making things unusually hot and balmy for a mid-November night. Williamsburg was absolutely dead as we flew down Bedford Ave., huddled beneath a $3 bodega umbrella on our way to the Trash Bar. We had people to see and shows to attend, and no amount of rain was going to kill our early start to the weekend.


The bar nice and dry. They offered us free tater tots. They were also holding an open bar until 9:00, and it was only 8:00. We were happy.


Tater tots and beer make for a dynamic combo, especially when they’re free, but our real reason for braving the rain was Motion Picture Demise. They’re a four-piece band from Richmond, Virginia, and they sorta resemble a punked out, post-emo Guns ‘n’ Roses. Lead guitarist Alexander Ferraro looks (and plays) like Izzy Stradlin, and frontman Travis Tucker can scream with all the pissed-off grit of Axl Rose. That was lots of rockstar posturing, mic-stand hoisting, and guitar soloing from atop the monitor speakers. Good show, guys.


After Motion Picture Demise wrapped it up, we left the Trash Bar and spent several minutes trying to find a good, cheap eatery that hadn’t closed its doors for the night. We failed, so we took our hungry selves over to Northsix to satisfy our musical appetite.


Bobby Burg, the bassist for headliners Make Believe, was working the merch table when we entered the club. He’s a very nice guy who plays for a very good band, so check out Make Believe’s page on the main Baeble site. Opening band Ecstatic Sunshine was just getting started, though, so we decided to let Bobby sell his merchandise in peace.


It was loud in front of the stage. There are two instrumentalists in Ecstatic Sunshine – just a guitar and bassist – and both had their instruments cranked to the breaking point. The vocals were scant (just the occasional rhythmic scream), but that didn't matter. When instrumental music is that frantic and entwined, additional instruments only muddle the sound.