bands and animals

Last night at dinner, as Jeffrey was singing "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" and inventing new verses with Stella about different animals to swallow, I thought it oddly appropriate that I was about to leave for San Francisco to see two bands with animal names - Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. I've been digging Band of Horses for the last year or so; they are a new band who's second album is due out next month. I quite like their first one and was quite excited to see them live. Dinosaur Jr is legendary in that kind of 80's alternative/90's grunge/stoner-slacker corner of the music world. I've been aware of them and have heard stuff by them since their first album in '85, but only really dived headlong into their discography earlier this year. Their new cd, Beyond, is easily my most played cd this year. And last night, i finally got a chance to see them live. I had tickets to see them at the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor but has a 102 degree fever that day and couldn't go.

The show was at the Mezzanine in SF, which is a fairly intimate club near 5th & Mission. It took less than 20 minutes to get there by car, which was nice. The opening set by Band of Horses was great, a nice mix of familiar tunes and new stuff from their upcoming cd. The lead singer has a really great voice and i liked the way they orchestrated three guitars without any of them stepping on each other.

After a 45 minute set, then a half hour set break, Dinosaur Jr took the stage. J. Mascis, the guitarist, singer and principle song writer, has a reputation as somewhat of a guitar god, but also as the definitive stoner-slacker. With his long white hair and introverted demeanor, he hardly embodies the rock god. But he certainly is an amazing guitarist. No wonder Sonic Youth titled one of their songs "J. Mascis for President". I could have done without the slam dancing and occasional stage diving that began near the stage around halfway through the show (and by the looks of things, the band would have strongly preferred to do without it too), but overall it was an excellent show and I'm very glad I was finally able to see them live. The next rock show in SF I'm considering seeing is the Jesus and Mary Chain, although at $40 per ticket, I'm not sure I'll make it.

The whole experience got me thinking about bands with animal names, particularly current bands in the "indie" world. Just off the top of my head we have Eels, Sparklehorse, Deerhoof, Deer Hunter, Wolf Eyes, Wolf Parade, Wolfmother, The Fruit Bats, Grizzly Bear, Pedro the Lion, Modest Mouse, The Field Mice, The Arctic Monkeys, The Mountain Goats, Gorillaz, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, The Unicorns, Minus The Bear, Panda Bear, Caribou, and Le Tigre. Going beyond the indie world, you have the Eagles, Byrds, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Jayhawks, T. Rex, Phish, Fish, Swans, The Monkeys, Boomtown Rats, Buffalo Tom, Donna the Buffalo, Leftover Salmon, Counting Crows, Black Crowes, Yard Birds, Flock of Seagulls, Grant Lee Buffalo, The Roaches, Three Dog Night, The Turtles, The Stone Ponies, Eek-a-Mouse, Iron Butterfly, The Scorpions, The Stray Cats and Skinny Puppy. Then there's non-specific animal names - Animal Collective, The Animals, Super Furry Animals, Be Your Own Pet...

Obviously, I've been thinking about this way too much. I must stop now.