Girl at the Rock Shows

What’s better than one night of Dillinger Four at The Turf Club? That’s right, two nights of Dillinger Four at The Turf Club. That’s where I was on Saturday night, and although I had just seen this headliner on Friday night, I was so excited to experience it all over again.

Although the headliner was the same, the three openers changed, starting with Yesterday’s Numbers. My only history with this was act was catching a very quick, fifteen-minute set from them at Front Row Paul Fest. I fell in love with them that day and was so excited to get a bit more of them on Saturday night. Stylistically, Yesterday’s Numbers is a punk band, but they have an almost alt-country twang to their sound that makes them irresistible. Another thing that makes this group absolutely irresistible is the feeling of seeing a local supergroup because, at the end of the day, that’s exactly what this band is. Featuring current and former members of The God Damn Doo Wop Band, Teenage Strangler, The Right Here, Dingus, the Soviettes, The Slow Death, and Chooglin’ (and many more), the people behind this band clearly know what they are doing and have been doing it for years yet there’s still a sense of excitement and innovation when it comes to their sound. Long story short, I finally got to see a full set from Yesterday’s Numbers, but it still wasn’t enough, and I hope to have another chance to catch them sooner rather than later.

I instantly fell in love with the energy that the next band, Citric Dummies, brought to the sold-out venue. Although I had seen them once before and knew that I liked them, I forgot just how much fun this power trio is. Vocalist/bassist David Lunch comes off as a complete sarcastic asshole. Okay, that doesn’t sound like a praising way to address this man, but I loved it. Like the music of this group, there was something abrasive about his banter, but it was clearly all in good fun and definitely added that special sauce that makes a Citric Dummies show a Citric Dummies show. Sure, you could call this power-trio a punk band, but that doesn’t do their sound justice. It’s slightly chaotic and, when mixed with David’s abrasive energy, creates an almost cathartic atmosphere that I think we could all use a little more of as this world seems to get darker and more insane with every passing day.

Christy Costello, the next act to take the stage, is nothing short of yet another local legend. Christy has done it all. Sure, she has been a star on the stage with various groups across town and across the country, but, more importantly to me, she has been a force behind the scenes. From her work as a DJ to her roles as a talent buyer and promoter, Christy is an unstoppable force of a woman and someone I truly admire. That being said, any chance I get to see her in the spotlight is a damn good night, but something about those spotlights seemed to be shining just slightly brighter on her and her band on Saturday night at The Turf Club. I loved how Christy Costello’s sound seemed to split the difference between the slight chaos and intensity Citric Dummies had just given us all and the more straight-up punk sound of Dillinger Four that was to come. At the same time, she brought the innovation and uniqueness that Yesterday’s Numbers had started the night off with. There were moments through the set where you got lost in the beauty and emotion of Christy’s voice and other moments where there was no way not to dance along to what the “Casual Chaos Club” (the name of her backing band) was giving you. It was smiles all around, but with undertones of social justice and frustrations with the current state of well, everything.

I know that I just reviewed Dillinger Four on Friday night, but as I mentioned in that review (which you can read HERE!), something was slightly off with me. Although I had a great time, I wasn’t in the mood to work. I didn’t want to fight with the sold-out audience to get up front and put my focus more on just enjoying the moment than documenting the night. I was determined to change that for Saturday night’s show, and, although it was hard not to mingle around the club and, instead, stay glued to my spot up front near the stage, it paid off because I got to see this band in a whole different light than I had on Friday night in a way.

That light is one of camaraderie and fun. Don’t get me wrong, this band is legendary. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, they are truly kings of this scene and are known across the world, and their name was dropped by some huge bands in many songs, but that’s not the way it felt on Saturday night. Saturday night felt like a local show, and I know that’s not a surprise, as, at the end of the day, that’s exactly what this was, but it just felt almost a bit too subdued and doo chill for such legends. You know that whole “Don’t forget me when you’re rich and famous” saying? Well, the members of Dillinger Four clearly took that to heart. Although they have toured the globe and have played with the best of the best over the past few decades, there was this feeling in the air at The Turf Club that everyone had a Dillinger Four story, and it felt like the members of this band would have clearly sat there and heard them all. Maybe this is all in mind, and maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but I hope you’re getting what I’m trying to explain.

Don’t get me wrong, Saturday night was great, but there was one disappointing factor that I would be remiss to not bring up. Dillinger Four played essentially the same set on Saturday as they had on Friday. It wasn’t as long because, as the band eluded to, playing seventeen songs in one night is insane for people their age, but most of the fifteen songs they played on Saturday had also been played on Friday night. I don’t understand why bands do this. Maybe it’s the mentality that nobody would be crazy enough to buy tickets to both shows, but in the case of a band as legendary as Dillinger Four, isn’t that expected? Again, don’t misunderstand these words. I loved hearing hits like “Gainesville” and “Maximum Piss & Vinegar” twice this weekend, but I also would have loved to hear the band dig into some of the lesser-known tracks from their catalog or bring in some more new songs from their new album, ‘This Shit is Geniuser’. I just feel like that would have made this weekend slightly more special than just another Dillinger Four show.

I can’t wait to go into my day job on Monday and get asked about what I did this weekend. Although it will mean nothing to my co-workers who don’t know anything about music, it will make my heart so happy to say that I got to see Dillinger Four play back-to-back nights at The Turf Club.

Line Up:

Yesterday’s Numbers

Citric Dummies

Christy Costello

Dillinger Four

Venue: Turf Club

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 42

Crowd Surfers – None

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 5 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

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)-

Yesterday’s Numbers – 1

Citric Dummies – 1

Christy Costello – 2

Dillinger Four – 15

Overall Score –9.5 out of 10

Show on Deck — Sugarcoat / Sonic Sea Turtles / Circle Circle

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