Last night I was rendered speechless by yet another incredible live performance. It seems like the past few months have given me opportunities to witness some truly awe-inspiring bands. When I read in August that Madison, Wisconsin’s Killdozer had a handful of tour dates scheduled for 2008, I nearly shit my pants and died. Sure, their first album came out when I was but one year old, and split for the first time when I was seven years old…but that doesn’t mean I can’t call myself a fan, right? Their songs are so rich in technical nuances and humor (see: “Lupus”, “Hottentot”, and the entire For Ladies Only record). Plus, they invented grunge!
I arrived at the Echo shortly after 10pm and heard the band soundcheck for five minutes. They did this by asking a bunch of guys at the front of the stage what they wanted to be louder. Then the band dictated the responses they received to the sound guy, and played a few bars to make sure everything sounded good. When all instruments and vocals were sufficiently loud, they said, “See you in a few,” and stalked off the stage. This is when I met up with Phoebe and Sali and went to sit out back in the anti-social chamber/smoker’s pit/whatever you want to call it. We talked about Obama and sex and music for a while. Phoebe was nervous about seeing the band because, as she put it, it was “Dude Night” at the Echo, and everyone seemed to be old and fat and bearded. And then there’s me. I fit in so perfectly.
I went to stand right up front as the brother’s Hobson and Michael Gerald took their places on stage, and just as soon as they started “Cotton Balls” my ears were met with the brute force of the band’s low-end gnarly sound. Holy fuck, were they ever loud. I snapped some pictures, then went to stand with Phoebe and Sali for a few minutes. Then I snapped more pictures, then moved back, and so on and so forth. After two or three songs, Phoebe leaned over and said she was in awe of the band. I think what finally sold her on the ground was the Neil Diamond cover. She would say later that she was thankful I made her stay for the band, and that they were awesome. See, some girls like Killdozer!
As for the performance, it was everything I expected. Gerald was larger-than-life and his banter was silly as hell. He kept reaching for his setlist and holding it an inch away from his face to see what song was next, because he forgot his glasses. Every time Bill Hobson stopped to tune or change a string, Gerald informed the crowed what was happening, why and how it was happening. By the way, Bill Hobson’s guitar playing was immense. He’s a big burly dude with a shaved head who wears leather boots, and the way he plays his guitar makes it look like he’s about to snap a twig in half. He has unbelievable technical skills and, again, seems like a mammoth figure as he lumbers around the stage. Drummer Dan Hobson, although somewhat obscured by the constantly-in-motion Gerald and other Hobson, is a fantastic drummer who plays drum patterns I’ve never heard before and probably wouldn’t sound right if they were juxtaposed to any other band I’ve ever heard, but with Killdozer, it is perfect.
For me, highlights included “Space 1999”, “The Rub”, “King Of Sex” (which wasn’t on the setlist but was played anyway) and the two-cover-song encore. You know who else enjoyed himself at the show? David Yow, who was yelling drunkenly unintelligible shit between every single song from right next to us, then yelled at the guy standing in front of me for not clapping harder before the band returned for their encore. Hilarious!
Killdozer still has a few dates remaining on this tour, and since they’ve all got proper jobs now, who knows when they’ll ever reform and tour again. You should do your best to see them now, and if you don’t know anything about the band, you would be wise to seek out any of their albums except the last two, because once the Hobson brothers left, Killdozer albums were slightly-less amazing. Start with Twelve Point Buck or Snake Boy, then work your way whichever way you please. Just remember not to post any of their songs on your website or Touch & Go will hunt you down like a homeless man in Surviving The Game, and you’ll start to resent them and wonder why you keep supporting them even though they’ve made it abundantly clear that they don’t give two shits about your “support”.
Setlist:
Cotton Balls
57
Space 1999
Cyst
The Rub
King Of Sex
A Man’s Gotta Be A Man
I Am I Said [Neil Diamond]
Live Your Life Like You Don’t Exist
Richard
Sonnet
New Pants And Shirt
Hottentot
Going To The Beach
Run Through The Jungle [Fogerty] (encore)
Cinnamon Girl [Neil Young] (encore)
