I went to see 88boadrums last night at the La Brea tar pits. It was alright. It didn’t get really interesting until about the last twenty minutes. Considering how loudly the stage drums were mic’d, the surrounding 85 drum kits really were only audible to those sitting closest to a particular section. When there was singing and guitar chords involved, it sounded much better than when it was simple drumbeats layered atop each other. And the list of drummers had maybe ten interesting names and then it devolved into a “Who’s Who” of indie rock hippie drum circle. Too bad it couldn’t all be drummers of quality like Zach Hill, Sara Lund, Michael Henrickson, and Hisham Bharoocha. Instead it was douches like the drummer from Entrance and members of completely worthless, ineffectual Echo Park hipster bands. I’m still baffled at how none of the 88 participants — or even anybody in the crowd — brought along a Roland TR-808. I mean, Jesus people! It was, after all, 88boadrums on 08/08/08 at 8:08pm! What a dumb oversight on everybody’s part. I especially loved the giant iPod billboard hovering atop a building in the background. It really lit up the night sky in a way that served to remind us all of how omnipresent Corporate America is. Not only that, the letter that was sent around to prospective volunteers stated, “The whole event is sponsored by [blahblahblah] and NIKE. So please wear your NIKE tennis shoes. If you do not have a pair of NIKEs, we recommend you wearing comfortable shoes with no visible branding. Thank you.” What the fuck?
Anyway, here’s a 1/2 second of video!
