by Ruth Milne
Indie rockers Cursive played a fantastic set of old and new songs to a surprisingly small crowd Friday night.
The show got off to a slow start, and the opening act — The Reddmen — took the stage well after 8 p.m., the advertised showtime. The local power-pop trio shone as usual, pumping out one high-energy song after another. The Reddmen are reliably excellent, and without question the most professional and proficient band in the Black Hills. My only complaint was that they played mostly new material; after over a decade of original music, they have an extensive collection of fan favorites to draw from that we didn’t get to hear that night. Maybe next time.
Meanwhile, a friend of a friend received a text message from another friend who had temporarily ditched the show for a trip to the nearest watering hole: “I’m drinking at the bar with Cursive.” Naturally, we headed over there as soon as the Reddmen were through.
Well, the friend was drinking at the bar, and Cursive was drinking at the bar, but they weren’t technically drinking with Cursive. Apparently “drinking at the bar with Cursive” primarily involves sitting at the bar with a drink, looking cool and pretending not to notice the musicians sitting at a nearby table.
It was so sad.
Meanwhile, another friend who was still at the show contacted us: “Hey, the Box Elders don’t suck that bad.”
So back to the show, where the second band was performing — and they really didn’t suck that bad; the material they have online is rather misleading.
From the name, I initially assumed the Box Elders were local, but I thought wrong. They’re actually from Nebraska, same as Cursive, but while Cursive looks like regular guys from Nebraska, this band doesn’t. For example, the bassist wore tight shiny black shorts, oversized shiny silver jacket, leather booties — and a guitar. That was it.
They played catchy, Shins-style poppy rock music. The drummer was impressive; from time to time he played the keyboard with his left hand, simultaneously drumming with his right hand, and gripping the extra drumstick in his teeth like a dog who wants to play fetch.
Cursive (setlist posted previously) played a nice mix of older and newer stuff. Singer/songwriter Tim Kasher wore faded Converse sneakers and ratty jeans, singing self-aware and ruthlessly unsentimental songs about art and life and regret. Although the band no longer features a cello, they performed several songs from their breakthrough album “The Ugly Organ” and used guitar solos to fill the vacancy.
The emotion and passion in Cursive’s music is hard to describe. I’ve always heard Tim Kasher is kind of a dick in real life. A friend named Kristin once asked him to sign the record she just bought after the show. He grabbed it, scrawled “You’re an Asshole” and gave it back. Pretty classy.
Somehow that unpleasantness, when it’s screamed poetically against a backdrop of aggressive, surging music, is a beautiful confession. I do enjoy his music, and I enjoyed the show quite a bit.
So did the bald drunk guy who kept grabbing people and screaming the lyrics along with Kasher. There’s a classic video of Henry Rollins in his Black Flag days punching an overenthusiastic fan who kept grabbing at him. That’s punk rock. Indie rock, however, is a different world wherein people just give disapproving looks — much like the symphony — and bald drunk guy screamed along all the way to the final song.
Finally, I picked up a copy of “The Ugly Organ” on gorgeous green vinyl, which I did not ask anyone to sign. Saddle Creek Records has a smart policy of offering one free mp3 download of albums you buy on vinyl; however, I already have this one on CD. Anyone want my free download? Just let me know and it’s yours.
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