Last night at the Flatiron I caught two excellent bands.  First was the Leeves, who I had seen the night before at the dotmatrix project, followed by the power of the Crap Rock All-Stars, who should really change their name, I heard no crap.

Thursday night I went to check out the dotmatrix project.  I know it’s pretty pathetic that I hadn’t been out to one of their shows yet, what with so many friends and acquaintances in bands that have performed, but I finally made it out.  The Leeves are a stellar punk band heavily influenced by the Clash.  I say punk band, but do not be fooled, they are not easily shoved into any genre other than rock and roll.  Slow, fast, they got it.   And how. They effortlessly go from straight punk to reggae to jazz to surf.  Jared Smith, Jon Bohlen, and Doug Pike cruised through the first half of their set as if they were born with the music all over them like the goo on a new born.  When it was time to film a song, the dotmatrix crew flipped on the hot lights and soft boxes, filling the dim room with a fresh light.  The cameras rolling, Smith tells the crowd, “okay, this is our bright song.”

Smith wails into the microphone while chopping away at the guitar, mixing quick licks with chords, foot smashing down on a pedal with excellent timing.  Bohlen makes his bass guitar his bitch, forcing my head to tilt to the side numerous times like a dog hearing a high pitched whistle a few blocks over, out of delight.  Pike plays drums like a goddam wizard.  I’ve seen a LOT of drummers around the area, but few have his speed and finesse.

So I had a good time.

Friday night, my friends in the Crap Rock All-Stars were booked at the Flatiron in Greensboro.  I was going to go anyway, but was thrilled at the chance to see them play on the same bill as the Leeves.  The set from the opening act was much different from the one at the dotmatrix project.  They (the Leeves) said they were going to play a lot of their favorites- some dating back many years to when they first began playing together.  We all had a blast.  When they played a certain tune about a Ghost Writer, the crowd sang along with Bohlen and Pike on the back up parts.

Then came the Crap Rock All-Stars.  I have known these guys for a while.  Kit Dean and Tommy Tinitius used to play guitar and drums, respectfully, in the band Scarlet Harlot.  After the Harlot broke up, Dean and Tinitius continued working on Dean’s songs, some of which were played in Scarlet Harlot.  Thus began a new chapter for these rockers, the Crap-Rock All-Stars.  They got the name from a Simpsons episode in which Bart goes through a list of rock genres attempting to guess what the band Marge is talking about sounds like.  At one point he says, “crap rock”.

But let me assure you that this band is NOT crap.  After playing a handful of shows as a duo, they hooked up with local legend Mikey Roohan.  Roohan asked if they wanted a bass player.  Dean said yes, but thought nothing of it until Roohan called, came to practice, and joined the band.  Now, the three piece complete, they have a bevy of original tunes, from both Dean and Roohan, and are sounding like All-Stars indeed.

But guys, seriously, you are not Crap.

I’d say the Crap Rock All-Stars sound like the Lemonheads, Nirvana, the Rentals and something all their own.  They got on stage last night with a purpose, no doubt pumped up by the performance of the Leeves, which was electric, and let us have it.  They cranked out brand new tunes (yeah, like five of them), played the favorites off their first record, and ended the evening with a Christmas sing along about male genitalia.  Not to mention a dirty, distorted version of a Rick Astley tune from the eighties, a song I truly loathe- they made me forget that- and the crowd loved it.  Oh, and they strung christmas lights around the drum set and microphone stands for a little atmosphere.

Local music is not dead.  I will prove it to you.  But you have to not be dead either.  Get the fuck out of the house once in a while and go support music.  You say you love music, don’t you?  I know you do.  There is ALWAYS a show going on somewhere on a weekend.  Shit, I’ve seen four shows this week, and I still got one to go to tonight. I’m not proud. Or tired. I’m just sayin’.

You say you love music, right?  I know you do.

And, you are not dead.