About a week or so ago I had the opportunity to interview Julia Shapiro from Chastity Belt for Tiny Mix Tapes. The interview was supposed to be for a different blog, but they tried to fight me about a question I asked about Anne Rice books so I gave the finished interview to Tiny Mix Tapes. I'm real pleased with myself for having done that. On account of the fact that I interviewed the band, they were nice enough to put myself, and Lindsey Baker on the guest list for their sold out show opening for Courtney Barnett at One Eyed Jacks last night.
It was our first time going to One Eyed Jacks, which is situated in the French Quarter, and when we got there a bit too early we locked up our bicycles and walked around a little bit looking for a place to get a quick drink before we went into the show. Luckily, being the French Quarter and all, we found a place in 12 seconds. I forget what the bar was called but I ordered a citrus pale ale, and Lindsey Baker got a beer so thick and dark that it looked like pudding. She asked me if I wanted a sip and I said no because I secretly feared that it would make me poop my pants.
After we finished our drinks we went into One Eyed Jacks, got two more beers, and then found a spot in front of the stage. The opening act was a nice Australian man in a ball cap named Darren Hanlon. He was very sincere, had a good voice, and sang a song about a girl roommate he had once who was a punk rocker and also very sleepy. During his set he told a funny story about riding in the tour bus with Chastity Belt and how they had a wide selection of snacks. After Darren was done playing, Lindsey Baker and I went outside to smoke and made it back just in time for Chastity Belt's first song.
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| Chastity Belt is like "fix this microphone." |
This was our first time seeing Chastity Belt perform and we enjoyed them very much. They opened with the song "Drone" off of their new album Time to Go Home. This particular song features a lyric that I think about a lot and that lyric is: "He was just another man trying to teach me something." While I was standing in the crowd thinking about this lyric and all the many ways it applies to my life, a man who was shorter than me tried and failed to get into the backstage area and then stood so close in front of me that I could smell his ear grease. Lindsey was upset about this man standing so closely in front of us so she very discretely spit on the back of his shirt five times. She wanted me to make sure that I said "five times."
I wanted to say hi to Julia from Chastity Belt at some point during the night, and saw her walk by a couple times, but was too shy to do anything about it.
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| Courtney Barnett (photo stolen from Gumbo_Party) |
We weren't able to see very well once Courtney Barnett took the stage because every tall man in the room rushed to build a wall of meat in front of every girl in the room, but I was able to see clearly enough to notice she was wearing a Chastity Belt shirt, which I thought was cool. It's always good to see bands support each other openly. There should be more of that.
I was less familiar with Courtney's music than Lindsey Baker was, so it was fun for me to get a proper introduction in a live setting, which is often my favorite way to hear music. I was super impressed with her set, and also with the older couple (maybe like 60 or 70?) who seemed to be there on a date and spent most of their time taking selfies against the backdrop of Courtney wailing and flailing on stage. Everyone was having a great time. Lindsey Baker and I had so much fun that when we got home we forgot to take the trash out.
Darren, Chastity Belt, and Courtney are all playing with each other again tomorrow night in Atlanta. Here's info on THAT SHOW.
If your band has a show coming up in New Orleans that you'd like us to see, you can email us about it at kellymcclurewritesstuff@gmail.com
PREVIOUSLY: Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ Siberia
