Not your dad's rock n' roll. No, wait. It is now.

"Did you all find sitters for tonight?"
-- Dave Bosch, drummer, Hammerbox


Tonight I took another step down memory lane, a theme that is becoming more and more apparent on this blog. Hammerbox, one of the bands from my Seattle-Is-Alternative-Nation heyday, reformed (at least for tonight) and played a sold out concert at EMP. It was a big thrill for me, since they were one of my favorite bands at the time. When they broke up ten years ago, it was really sad, because they were young and full of talent, on the cusp of making it really big on the national scene. They only had two releases -- their self-titled album on C/Z Records, and Numb on A&M. I'm not too clear on the circumstances of the breakup, but I'd heard it was pretty severe and bitter. That said, the show tonight was a big surprise when it was announced.

So I walked in to EMP's Sky Church, EMP's trippy concert hall, with no real expectations other than I expected the band to rock. When Hammerbox took the stage and started playing, I imagined myself back in the 90s, standing in any club I used to frequent but is now gone (The Weathered Wall and Moe come immediately to mind). I see a large cloud of smoke, smell beer in the air (and on the floor), and see a crowd of strange people with torn jeans, flannel shirts (that is soooo 1992), Doc Marten's (ditto), odd piercings, and long and/or brightly colored hair.

And then, in the darkness of Sky Church, I see the bright glow of a cell phone, and I'm immediately back in the present. The cloud of smoke is gone. The scent of beer in the air is isolated to the back corner of the room where the portable bar is located. I see conservative mom and dad haircuts. I see clothing emblazoned with Tech and Dot-com logos (that is soooo 1999). I see dress shoes. I hear folks remark that the music's too loud (it wasn't; and no, I'm not deaf). The crowd is not full of twenty somethings. The crowd is well into their 30s. For those who go way back into the Seattle music scene, they're represented tonight by people in their 40s and 50s. Most of us are now no longer in that demographic that rock is getting marketed to. A lot of the music we used to groove to back then is now gently getting eased into "Classic Rock".

Sigh. Pass the joint cream.

People tonight in their early and mid 20s were mere pups when Hammerbox was still together. I look at them and feel sorry for them because they were at the show trying to witness music history they were too young to be a part of. I look at them in pity because they are left with bands that try to have that "Seattle Sound". Ass rockers like Nickelback. Blecch.

As for the show itself, guitar volume not withstanding, everything went as expected. Hammerbox sounded good as ever. Harris Thurmond's fuzzy, crunchy, lightning-quick guitar playing was fabulous. Bass player James Atkins bounced around on stage with ever-present energy (with his short cropped 'do, he looks kind of odd without the bleached new wave mop top). And Dave Bosch was still a drumming machine, hitting the skins like a monster, and lending backing vocals.

And then there was Carrie Akre. For the last ten years, I've had a love-hate relationship with this woman's music. She's got a beautiful and powerful voice, one that could cross music genres. But ever since Hammerbox broke up, I don't think she's been using it properly. Take a listen to everything she's recorded since then with Goodness, The Rockfords, and her solo stuff. She oversings and overpowers every track with her voice, and the instruments seem to take a back seat. I mean, yes, that is why every one of those projects are popular -- because of her voice. But I think she forgets that the best music is collaborative and that every instrument -- including the vocals -- should be complementary and equal in emphasis. Tonight, Lisa nailed it on the head when she noted that Hammerbox's music was perfectly suited to Akre's voice. She was right: the guitar and drums were perfectly tuned to match Carrie's voice. And at times, it was even better when you could barely hear her singing. (Note: if there's one thing that really bugs me about Carrie Akre, it's her stage presence. She has this dance that some would say is interpretive Middle Eastern in nature. And she does this arm-writhing-snakey thing (I really can't put this to words, I'm afraid). And at times she paces in circles around the stage, wide-eyed and in a daze during guitar solos. Oh, and she has a particular move where she looks like she's doing Mick Jagger's rooster move, but she does it with Spirit Fingers.)



The band still got it. I heard they'd been rehearsing for weeks just for this show, and it paid off. They still with energy, and they have such great chemistry. It didn't look like a band that had one day off from each other, much less ten years. They dug out all of the old tunes from both of their albums, including a couple of songs I hadn't heard before (I believe they're included with the re-release of Numb. Do I smell a Reunion Tour? If so, you heard it here first!). When they started playing, I felt like, for old times' sake, slam dancing (moshing, as the kids used to say). I wanted to toss Lisa and two of my buddies atop the crowd and join them in one euphoric crowd surf. I'm sure I wasn't the only one. I could see, here and there, people bouncing around, looking for people to bump with. I was expecting someone to stage dive. But no. Alas, good sense that comes with aging took effect. Too bad, since most of us there tonight probably have good health insurance now. Damn good show. I can't wait to get my copy of the show, taped directly from the sound board.

The show opened with Sean Nelson & His Mortal Enemies, led by Harvey Danger front man, Sean Nelson. They played a set of mostly revival rock and covers. Among them was Jon Auer, formerly of The Posies, looking like he'd put on quite a few "happy pounds" (tying in neatly with the theme of this post).

On an even more personal note, Hammerbox getting back together wasn't the only reunion tonight. I hung out a bit with friends I hadn't seen in over five years. It was a veritable "who's who" and "who the hell is that" of Seattle music. I saw a bunch of people from the now defunct Y Records (the label that released Goodness's first album), including Rob M. and Ken A. from Flake, a band I followed religiously for a few years. A band that had a certain Hammerbox-like sound. They're older, but they haven't changed much. Rob's got a new band, and I'll be going to his shows when he starts gigging again. Now I'm looking forward to the Flake reunion tour!

To finish off the night properly, Lisa and I wandered over to the 5 Point for a drink before heading back home to the suburbs and sigh, real life.



P.S. It took me a while to come up with a title for this post. Kinda lame, but here are ones that I considered.
1. Jurassic Park
2. Senior night at EMP
3. You kids are gonna go deaf
4. Hammerbox comes alive
5. I heart Grunge