Nu Music Nite on Tuesday, January 20, 2009.

Tuesday January 20, 2009, bore gifts for our Inaugural post in two ways: first "Scene's from the Shoe" gets treated to five bands cranked in that fabulous, Horseshoe Tavern soundspace. For firkin' free. Holy cow!

And, that same day Barack Obama takes office as the new president of the superpower next door!

This week's Nu Music Nite also included a surprise pre-show showcase by Montreal's "The Lost Fingers". And Chris Stopa, singer from Public, graciously gave us a warm and insightful interview from the basement floor of the 'Shoe.

First band up for Nu-Music Nite was Mississauga bubblegum punk band, Planet 4. Here they are working hard on the crowd during their cover of Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays"...



Spouting lines like "We are so awesome" to the crowd, you have to wonder if these guys are caricaturing the high-school bands that they emulate, or if they are truly that much in love with themselves!

Following this act is Public. Not much had I heard about them. Anna, a friend of the band I met after their performance, points out that their band name is pretty much Google-proof. True! Ha ha.

Watch with me as Public leads into a snappy chorus that will nest inside your head for days...



Lucky us: following the performance, Chris retells his favorite Horseshoe Tavern experience watching band, Cat Power's extremely shy singer perform--"ushered [in] through the crowd in a winter coat and a hood"--at the Horseshoe many years ago. We're also enlightened on Public's affairs:



Thanks for the interview, Chris! Awesome.

Next up is Wank Punter (that really hurt: typing that horrible, horrible band name) that seems to be borne off a "hey wouldn't it be a hoot if we..." dare during a break at the studio. Ladies and Gents, it's Stan Bush meets Sammy Hagar meets Howard Stern (and Sideshow Bob) in a pressure cooker:



Now, if only I can get that hook out of my head. That ultra-cheesy pre-chorus--"Sweet Mary-Lou, she meant the world to me..."--eek! This band, along with two, mostly naked go-go dancers they periodically summoned on stage, brimmeth over with an out-of-place nerdicality. This ensemble would, however, fit in perfectly at the Whisky A Go Go.

And... ta-da, closing Nu Music Nite, my friends, was the Von Ericks band:



I would have more to say, but at the moment I'm transfixed on that star-shaped and jingly object.

Signing off for this week's post is the hot Montreal band, Lost Fingers. We saved the first for last. The band was finishing a showcase for the bigwigs earlier the same evening, before the start of Nu Music Nite.

Here is Lost Fingers, sanding all the edges off of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long".



Thanks for visiting Scenes from the Shoe!

Come back next week.

Band websites:
www.planet4music.com
www.publicmusicnyc.com
www.wankpunter.com
www.thevonericks.com
www.thelostfingers.com

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Gary