One More Night Could Ruin Us

Sunday nights are not traditionally made for rocking, but that's exactly what happened last Sunday at TT the Bears Place when the 2nd annual Clicky Clicky Community Servings benefit show blasted through. The show drew a sparse but enthusiastic crowd; given it was a Sunday night, it was hard to expect much more. But it was a great event that raised money for a worthy cause, and it was organized by none other than the mighty Jay Breitling.

I got to TT's too early and ended up going next door to the Middle East to kill some time and hang out with some drunks at the bar. When I went back, I hob-nobbed with several friends before Kurt Heasley of Lilys came out to perform a brief but excellent acoustic set. He said he was suffering from allergies, but you couldn't tell. Heasley played several Lilys classics including "Ginger" and "Claire Hates Me" during his 20 minutes, chatting genially between songs.


A short while later, Soccer Mom provided the aural opposite of Heasley's set with a typically face-melting collection of extremely loud rock songs. The band played several songs from its forthcoming new album; I talked to guitarist Dan Parlin afterward and he said they were still working out the details, but the album should be out in 2014 and will undoubtedly be a scorcher. Major props to bassist Danielle Deveau for soldiering through the set with a cast on.

The Hush Now played its first show in a few years (and I was at the last one) and unveiled new material of its own from its forthcoming long-player. Guitarist Adam Quane sang a few of the new numbers (much to the delight of his excited family members who were in attendance), while singer-guitarist Noel Kelly led the way on some excellent slow-burning material.

The evening closed with a bravura, insane in the membrane (that's a good thing) set from Earthquake Party. Singer-guitarist Justin Lally was all over the stage, ripping off raw and overdriven riffs and solos and trading vocals with keyboardist Mallory Hestand, although you couldn't really make out the lyrics. Not that it mattered; the band emphasized the noise aspect of its noise pop sound, and that was glorious indeed. It'll be interesting to see where this band goes. They certainly have an exciting live presence.

Kudos to Senor Breitling and all the bands and folks who donated their time to make this event happen. It was a great show and will only gather steam and impact as it moves forward.