The Bass Geek

On my way over to Radio Radio for the show Friday night, I ran into the show’s promoter heading back to his car - people at the show were demanding the earplugs he kept there. It wasn’t a matter of blocking out the sound totally as much as trying to enjoy the show without permanent hearing damage. Virgil was just that loud, driving, and pounding. It also made me want to try out one of the Music Man Sterling fretless basses; I don’t think I’ve gotten my hands on one of those yet. Action Strasse brought the volume down a little bit, but there wasn’t a dip in intensity. I’m convinced that the band is just playing nice with its pop songs, and that it’s ready to explode at any minute into a frenzy. Lazarus rounded out the bill - it shared stylistic similarities with Birdmen of Alcatraz (since it shares both an extremely talented guitarist and a tremendously charismatic frontman), but it wasn’t as riff-based as the previous configuration. A great night of music all around, especially considering I had my new ‘plugs with me.