Last Wednesday, upon entering The Firebird, I spoke words to exactly two adult humans before ambling my way up front to take photos and thereby encountering a young man (Hi Jake!) who posed the following question as soon as I stepped next to him:

Jake [dancing to the house music]: Hey, would you rather be sober or on PCP?

Me: Well, Jake, I haven’t heard that acronym spoken conversationally since, oh, 1996? And that was by my 5th grade D.A.R.E. officer, soooo needless to say, I guess I’d choose sobriety. I’m not really a risk-taker when it comes to those kinds of things…

Jake [taking tiny repeating steps forward and backward at a rapid pace]: RIGHT?! That’s totally what I’m saying! I would never mess with angel dust or anything like that. I mean I’m on uppers right now, but………….So when did you graduate?

Me: You mean college right?

Jake [laughing with the subtle superiority complex of youth]: No, high school!

Me: Oh um, 2003?

Jake [expressing genuine disbelief]: Oh em gee, I graduated in 2010!

Me: I’m going to go get something to drink. Or a couple things probably. Catch ya later buddy.

And then I patted him on the head.

Such was the beginning of a Wednesday night filled with young crowd energy and pleasant surprises, just like Jake himself. Chicago’s Oscillator Bug took stage many minutes after 9pm and got right into a loud and synth-drenched experimental set. The best part about this formidable solo artist is the contrast between hearing and seeing the guy, who most reminds me of one particular ‘cool dad’ I knew growing up. Mustached, probably ironically but it doesn’t take, sportin’ a wedding ring and just flying around about four square feet of space, filling the whole room with noise, a decent enough challenge with the kids anxious for perhaps something weirder (Black Moth), or something more familiar (Hood Internet). Oscillator Bug pounded that synth with abandon, a microphone flung pragmatically around his neck for easy access. It was a perfectly brief set after a day and evening spent in anticipation over whether or not the show would even go off.

See, the night before, Black Moth Super Rainbow had paid what I’m sure was an otherwise pleasant visit to one of the South side’s most revered bar/restaurants. While they were hanging, their tour van was broken into and their very necessary and very specific equipment was stolen. But the good people of Firebird and the St. Louis music scene took it to the Internet and found the gear for BMSR in the 11th hour and the show when on.

The Hood Internet as advertised was actually one half of the duo, with Steve Reidell performing a solo set of HI’s signature mash-ups. You can have your Girl Talk, children, but this grown ass woman would like to keep the Hood Internet thankyouverymuch. Nuance might not be the traditional sticking point for a upper tier DJ mix, but that’s exactly what Reidell delivered, learning his audience as he went (Mase + Biggie Smalls + Puff Daddy…what up 8th grade?!) and winning the crowd over with samples from Whitney Houston and other R&B/Hip-hoppers That White Kids Like. I’m a believer.

I had to cut out of the show “early” (I turn into a pumpkin at midnight on week nights), so I didn’t shoot Black Moth and missed most of their set. They came out to ‘Hairspray Heart’ from 2012’s Cobra Juicy and it was as fun as I imagined it would be live. Comrade Bryan Sutter *did* shoot BMSR and provides a hearty review of their set over on his site. And my besties from Haikulou managed to – as they always do – put my thoughts into a short poem that is both accurate and succinct. It was a weird, wonderful night. Thanks to the ‘bird.

 

 More Oscillator Bug and Hood Internet photos here.