We strolled over to the Ale House where we saw JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN, whose one woman show had the venue packed to the rafters and totally mesmerised. Parts were truly touching and heart felt, but as one of us commented, there is something – something that Regina Spector has – that Joan does not, a special spark that never quite lights here. STEPHANIE DOSEN was up next, playing sweet acoustic music but not managing to evoke anything more than mild enjoyment.

Hurrah! It was time for SSM! It is hard to articulate how much ROTR loves this band, who were interviewed in issue 3 of the zine. As a general rule we love Detroit. SSM are scuzzy and futuristic keeping the garagey edge. John Szymanski’s synth fiddlings (he knows how to use a screw driver), the crunchy guitars of Marty Morris and playful drumming perfection from David Shettler mean so much more because they are so genuine, with not an ounce of pretense. SSM are not afraid to write pop songs – but they are disguised beneath wonderfully complex layers of punk fuzz and pyschedelic breakdowns. They sold us a beer soaked t-shirt for $5. Best band EVER.

I’m running out of time here as the Buzzcocks are on in an hour, but I do have time to mention the wonderful PAYBACKS, ever popular Detroit old-timers who came on after SSM (Szymanski was once a member). The venue was packed with people wanting to witness a bit of Detroit rock history and that they did. High spirits mixed with trad-garage-punk attitude and new material showcased tonight fitted seamlessly with the old. If you like garage punk, discover the Paybacks.

b

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 5:37 pm and is filed under ROTR, SXSW 07. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.