Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Noel, Jonah and Me (1993)
It's not necessarily fun to be an opening act for a band with an established following. Sometimes the headliner's fans can be hostile or dismissive (or not even there until right before the opening act is done), sometimes the mix is bad and sometimes it's just a bad fit. I typically like to see opening acts if I can because it's a great way to discover new bands.
In the spring of 1994, I was excited to see the Afghan Whigs at the Paradise. I had been enjoying their new album Gentlemen and was looking forward to see them play the new songs live. My brother and I got to the Dise in time for the opener, a guitar-and-drums duo out of Portland, Oregon called the Spinanes and we were blown away.
This was several years before the White Stripes blew up, so a two-person band was still pretty unique. The Spinanes were made up of singer-songwriter/guitarist Rebecca Gates and drummer Scott Plouf and had been signed by Sub Pop the previous year, in the midst of the grungesplosion. The band didn't sound like those other bands at all, leaning into a more minimalist sound that emphasized the dynamics between guitar and drums. Gates had a lilting voice that floated above the noise generated by her furious strumming and Plouf's powerhouse drumming. Not long after the show (the Whigs were awesome, btw), I picked up the band's debut album, Manos.
It's a terrific record with an economical approach, careening between acoustic folky numbers and raucous rockers. Plouf is a monster throughout, while Gates is a winning frontperson. The standout track for me was (and is) "Noel, Jonah and Me," which features both band members furiously kicking ass. The guitars are propulsive and energetic while Plouf hammers away, while Gates' vocals quietly take control.
"Standing here now you wash over me/Screeching fear and how you pull me near/Hear and there and your creeping complications/Did you give up punk for Lent in your heart heaven sent/Count Noel, Jonah and me."
The album definitely resonated with its target audience as it went to #1 on the college radio charts soon after its release.
"You're twisting to feel and I'm scared/And you're thinking to feel and I'm scared/And you're twisting to feel/I'm a square and that makes you giddy/Hey you there do you have some needs/It's your prayer and how/Standing here now you wash over me/Count Noel, Jonah and me."
The video for "Noel, Jonah and Me" got decent play on MTV's 120 Minutes; I don't remember hearing the song on WFNX in the Boston area but it may have gotten some airplay. Over the following few years, Gates sang backups on Elliott Smith's "St. Ides Heaven" and on Ben Lee's debut album, while Plouf played with Team Dresch and on Beck's album One Foot in the Grave. The duo reunited to make another Spinanes album, Strand, in 1996, but Plouf also began playing with Built to Spill and left the following year to join that band full-time.
Gates moved to Chicago and added bassist Joanna Bolme (later of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks) and drummer Jerry Busher and made the 1998 Spinanes album Arches and Aisles. After releasing a comp of early singles in 2000, Gates ended the band and went solo, releasing albums in 2001 and 2012. Plouf played with Built to Spill until 2012; he played on an album by Disco Doom in 2014. In 2018, Merge reissued Manos, which had been out of print for a while.
Opening acts don't always work out; I remember seeing Fastway open for Rush in 1984 and they were godawful. But I'm certainly glad I showed up early for that Afghan Whigs show 30 years ago.
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