Girl at the Rock Shows

I love that there are multiple spaces in town where I know that, no matter what the night is, I can walk in and get treated to creativity. I wasn’t in the mood for anything in particular on Wednesday night but knew I was in the mood for a show, so I packed up my camera and headed to one of my favorite local venues- Zhora Darling. Although I had seen some of the names of the bands floating around town as of late, I knew nothing about what to expect and definitely ended up getting more than I bargained for.

I don’t even know where to start with the opening act- Mommy Log Balls. Truthfully, I didn’t even know the set had started as noisy tones took over the intimate space. It wasn’t until the vocalist stumbled and literally tripped onto the stage that I realized that this band had started. My confusion didn’t stop there. Clearly, the vocalist was putting on an act of being sloppy drunk, and obviously, the music was not for the faint of heart. Before I go any further, let me just put this out there- I didn’t get it. That said, I adored the creativity and artistic expression of Mommy Log Balls.

As mentioned, sonically, this was not pleasing. That sounds so bad, and I truly don’t mean to offend, but it was a weird blend of noisy experimental punk tones matched with grunts and screams that were often performed by audience members rather than the actual band. It was “music” that was hard for me to follow. It was too avant-garde for my personal taste, yet this band’s outlandish performance had me stuck where I was. It was like a trainwreck that I couldn’t look away from, but there was no wreck. Sure, I didn’t quite get what it was that Mommy Log Balls was doing, but they never let the set get out of hand or their “music” fall into a tailspin. It was odd, it was interactive, it was loud, it was angsty, it was dirty, it was crunchy, it was artistic, and it was perfect.

Following Mommy Log Balls was Couch Potato Massacre. I’ve wanted to see this band for some time because their name is super clever and catchy, and I instantly loved how their music fell in line with their band name. The songs of this group, albeit super short punk-styled songs, all seemed to revolve around TV shows, movies, and video games– you know, things a couch potato could relate to. Although the only song I could really follow lyrically was the track they did about House (who doesn’t love House, am I right?), I loved their quick-moving set and how they performed every song with a sense of energy yet came off as super chill and laid back. Their overall style dabbled between pop-punk, garage-rock, and more classic punk tones perfectly. There was even one slightly ska-leaning song thrown into the mix to really give their set a little razzle-dazzle.

Closing out the show on Wednesday night at Zhora Darling was Murder Curious. Being the basic white girl I am, I love true crime so, naturally, I was drawn to this band solely because of their name. I don’t know what I expected from the local trio, but I know what I got wasn’t quite it. Their show felt bigger than Zhora Darling. Scratch that, it was bigger than Zhora Darling. They took the stage and instantly triggered a cloud of smoke to take it over. Add the plumes of smoke that would shoot out from the front of the stag,e and you were left with a true performance, not just a set. At first, I judged this hard. Zhora Darling is not a big room; on top of that, it was a Wednesday night, which means this was very little more than a glorified practice for these bands. Were the smoke machines really necessary? This is why I sleep on shows before I review them because the more I thought about it, the more I loved this. The fact that this band went all out with their outfits and these smoke machines, even though it was safe to say that this was going too far from a sold-out performance, spoke volumes to me. Murder Curious has a look, and they have a show, and they aren’t willing to sacrifice either of those things just because it’s a freezing and sleepy Wednesday night show.

The sound of Murder Curious is a bit hard to put into just one “genre box.” I got tastes of everything from grunge to old-school punk to nu-metal and all the way to an almost glam-rock hair-metal tone. Although the set, overall, stayed a bit more hard rock leaning than I personally go for, I appreciated the creativity that the trio put into their well-crafted song. Their set was the kind of set where, if you didn’t like a particular style or tone that the band was performing, just hang on for a couple of minutes, and it would surely change directions and turn into something completely different.

I could have stayed home on Wednesday night to get caught up on work and house chores but what’s the fun in that? I am beyond thrilled with my decision to suck it up, brave the cold, and go experience that magic that was Mommy Log Balls, Couch Potato Massacre, and Murder Curious at Zhora Darling.

Line Up:

Mommy Log Balls

Couch Potato Massacre

Murder Curious

Venue: Zhora Darling

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- None

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- 0

Broken Bones- None Noticed

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Mommy Log Balls – 0

Couch Potato Massacre – 0

Murder Curious – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Peony Park / Dashed / Junior Choir

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