KEXP VIP Club presented… Tapes N Tapes
May 19th, 2008
Last Wednesday afternoon, two of us were dispatched to The Triple Door to check out Tapes N Tapes, a Twin Cities pop band performing at 1 o’clock for the VIP Club. Hosted by KEXP and MC’d by Doctor Evil-lookalike Doctor Leon Berman (I am not kidding – this blew my mind), the band got started about 40 minutes late. Not a big deal if you’re a slacker like me and got off work at noon, but more than just a little annoying to those that have to report back to The Cubicle. And while they tried to explain that they had had an “early start” getting out of BC, I wasn’t the only one put off by this display of GPT. (Guitar Players’ Time) The band launched into some new tunes, part of an album described to me by another audience member as “just OK”, and trudged along for a four or five more songs before I felt them hit their groove. (What was that lengthy warm-up for?) The final three songs were quite rockin’ and clearly good and road-tested. Overall, however, Pitchfork, er, misterlevitan gives this one a 4.4 out of 10.
My Weisenheimer Report Card:
Attendance: D (let’s get ‘er going, people.)
Effort: B- (Canadians should had inspired them the night before; alternately, maybe Canadians overserved them at the jump off)
Audience participation: D (it’s the Triple Door where the seats grab your ass like a tractor beam)
Host/MC: C+ (Berman’s intro was shaky and supplemented by notes.)
Aptitude: B+ they were in time and the drummer was especially proficient.
Bar Service: D- (For Chrissakes, this is the fourth show in a row with sh*t service at the bar. I know this must make me sound like a grouchy lush, but jeez. This is my preemptive “no tip for the next guy” message. Trust me.)
May 20th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Jules said:
Yeah, I was pretty disappointed in this show and am hoping that it was not representative of their live performances all the time. It took a good 30 minutes for them to find their groove then it was over. I’m still a fan of The Loon — they can’t take that away from me. Also, I’m sold on the whole KEXP VIP deal — being 2 blocks from the triple door, i might just have to shell out the big bucks (on a payment plan ;) ) to go see more daytime shows.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
misterlevitan said:
My follow-up is to endorse the VIP access as well but with qualification:
PROS:
If you’re into sitting down while ingesting your rock and roll, then it’s a great deal. Even if you went to 1 show a month with that membership, it’d be pretty good value. Maybe you can’t rock at night. Maybe you just want the privilege of a more intimate show.
And this isn’t the only benefit of being a VIP member.
CONS: I can’t sit still during a Silversun Pickups show. They and Drive By Truckers AND Tapes N Tapes commented on this bizarre format during their sets. It’s UNNATURAL to sit whilst listening to rawk music, no?
Then there is the bar situation. If you like your nooners as much as I do, BYOB or have one at the Nitelite.
If you’re a nine-to-fiver and work outside downtown, this is a hassle.