Bizarre Evening of Ear Titillation
Last night, I went to the Magic Hat Street Bizarre on Church Street. I usually have low expectations for such events, however, I was impressed and had a good ol’ time. The best part is it was free. I don’t care for Magic Hat’s beer (too fruity for my taste), but they put on an excellent event and it’s great that they support local music.
There were performances on every block of Church St. and we walked up and down the street many times. We started the evening at the main stage on the top of Church St. where we saw Farm. I’ve heard them a few times and it was interesting to hear how different they are live — less mellow and more energetic. My only beef is their set was way too short — four songs, come on!
The sweet spot of the event was the small stage between Cherry St. and Bank St. where we saw Cccome?, Space Tiger, and Nose Bleed Island. It wasn’t really advertised, so it was a pleasant surprise.
I recorded a bit of each performance. My camera isn’t made for shooting video, it was at night, my hands aren’t steady, and I’m don’t work with video or motion in general, so don’t expect much.
I’ve seen Cccome? a few times (usually at some weird outdoor event), I like them and find them interesting. I saw Space Tiger on Stuck in Vermont but seeing them live was amazing — holy shit, that nine year old rocks!
The highlight of the sweat spot was seeing Nose Bleed Island. I’ve heard their album at work numerous times and I really dig it. They’re brilliant. Plus, they have an eleven year old drummer — what’s with all the kids who rock in this town? They’re one of my favorite local bands. It was a stripped-down performance, just Mr. Island, a tape recorder, and a dancer wearing a McDonalds’ French fries costume and a bunny head. Fantastic.
It addition to live music, there were other performances. That annoying tightrope guy was there, but I don’t know if he was part of the bizarre because he’s there every night during the summer. On the block between College St. and Bank St. there were six artists painting live art. Why is it always painters doing live art and not sculptors or collage artists?
I was expecting something much different and far more interesting when I saw “live art” on the schedule. I’m all for live art performances, alas, none of the artists there did anything for me. One of them was making an interesting piece, but then I watched him make it uninteresting. Yeah, I know I’m a picky little bastard, especially with art and people. I probably shouldn’t say anything because I didn’t see the final pieces.
We ended the night where we started, at the main stage, and saw The Cush. I like them a lot. They were slow and dreamy, the opposite of what we heard earlier and an appropriate way to end the evening. They were tight and had a full, layered quality that was impressive considering they’re a three-piece. The guitarist used a lot of delay effects; something I’m drawn to and like to do when I play.
Nights like these make me glad I live in Burlington and that I’m so close to everything. Despite being a small town, it has a lot of cool things going on: Art Hop (if all goes as planned, I’ll be in it this year); The Ramble in my neighborhood, The Olde North End (I’m trying to think of something to do for it this year); Spielpalast Cabaret, and many other things.