Waiting for the Stage to Break: Jail Weddings and Man/Miracle @ the Echo January 20th, 2008

Going to a 'Part Time Punks' show at the Echo makes me feel old, and I'm not really old. Maybe it's the drug induced pogo-ing or the Charlie Brownesque stand-in-one-place dancing going on around me as kids talk about how awesome it is to dance to Iggy Pop. What? Really? Anyways, sometimes you have to brave the queerness of young adulthood to go see a decent band. Jail Weddings earned such an honor this night.

I already had two naps by 10pm tonight, so I was lively enough and willing to catch the first band: Man/Miracle. I couldn't find any additional info on this band (edit: see below), however I believe that they said they hailed from Santa Cruz, or someplace with a similar name. Anyways, these boys were quite the energetic bunch- screaming and pounding away on their instruments, we reached the conclusion that they were a cross between the band James and the Strokes, if both combined to make a band you'd want to listen to. And we did! If you read this blog with any regularity, it's pretty obvious that I will walk away from your set if I find my time could be spent better elsewhere. However, I spent most of the set bouncing along and open jaw gaping at the amount of drum solos there were. Maybe, actually, that's why I like them so much... the drums. That's how they would end (at least it seemed that way); every song felt like they were trying to invoke the spirit of John Bonham, maybe a giant gong would have helped. Only two things slightly dampened this performance: one audience member apparently was shitting himself due to the aroma coming off his person, and moving to the complete opposite side of the room only helped slightly. And two, the last song Man/Mission played kept reminding me of a Bon Jovi ballad, except that unexpectedly it would pick up and get loud and pretty rocking. I had mixed feelings about that one.

After that set there was the discovery of a man selling a couple cases of records stuck in the back corner. I probably would have lingered longer had he been outside, however, he did have a copy of Los Yetis- therefor he is awesome and I hope he is selling again soon.

I had to break away from the records once Jail Weddings came on. How can you not be distracted by the completely FULL stage of people with glittery costumes and screaming main singer? I know I was. I witnessed this band last year and was completely taken by surprise. They describe themselves as "an updated take on the darker side of the '60s girl group blueprint with swamp-pop leanings, all combined with mean-streak mutant torch song drama." but with a mainly male lead vocal. Watching the stage puts me into a weird trance-like state. Perhaps it's the OOhing and Aahing that is so reminiscent of the bad 60's girl rockers (Oh Shangri-Las, how I love you so), or the maybe the bands ability to stick a violin in the mix and still make it sound 'hard'. One aspect I like about Jail Weddings is their ability to play off the idea of wanting to sound like this genre, embracing it but then tweaking it enough to sound new, and honestly, not like many other bands out there. So kudos to you guys putting on another memorable show. And sorry that my photos were kinda crap.

Coming soon: YellowFever and why Austin would be the best city ever if only the temperature wasn't so damn hot all the time.
EDIT: Ok, so the Echo had the band name spelled wrong for the opening act. It was Man/Miracle NOT Man/Mission. OOps. Anyway, for more info, please click here.