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Review #3 The names of the bands have been changed to protect my ass. Well, it’s been a little bit but I am finally back with some more news and reviews. Sadly, I haven’t gotten out of hoboken much in these past few weeks. Thank God for Maxwells or Dick might have to send me packin’. First, an aside... Way back when I made this deal with Dick and Richie I made my demands clear. If you’re confused, please see the introduction. Well, I think I forgot to mention one demand. I will not review any of our pimp3 friends’ musical projects. Clear enough. Or at least I thought, but it seems Dick, with some sidesteping and fancy talking, has convinced me to take this project on, provided I evoke the following disclaimer: "The names of the bands have been changed to protect my ass." And I guess I’ll have to see if I should have trusted Dick on this one… And if it lets me down, I can always start reviewing his shows. Saturday, October 13 found all the usual suspects relocated to a different Washington Street address than the one where you can usually find them. I was feeling a little under the weather, so please excuse the brevity of these reviews. It seems that the cold pills I was taking did some severe damage to my attention span. I’m still feeling a touch of the ADD as I write. The lineup: " quad transistor," "Julius Caesar" and "the Emory Boards" (Not obvious at all, right??) "Quad Transistor" was really impressive and very tight. I was not familiar with them, but learned that some of the members had been in Garden Variety, and that they would soon be releasing some new material on Gern Blandsten. "Julius Caesar" who had somehow managed to schedule in a gig around weddings, honeymoons, and bridal showers, were up next with their trademark pop-core sound. Marriage fever is in the air with these three, which reminds me…Congratulations to Sean and Erika, and Good Luck to Dan and Bridget! And Brino, well, we all love you! I’ve been seeing these guys for years, and they’ve really come a long way since the days of They Might Be Giants covers in the legendary Enright basement. Its been a long time since their last show so it was great to see them back on stage again. "The Emory Boards" are another local band who I have seen a few times before, and have found myself impressed each time. Tonight’s highlight was definitely a cover of the Cure’s "Fascination Street" Nobody really pulls that stuff out like they ought to anymore! Some may debate me on this, but was anyone there let down? Well, before I wax nostalgic… Last night I caught Kristen Hersch at Mawells as well. (No name change necessary, I doubt she will find out who I am, and hell, I can definitely hold my own against all 4 feet of her!) It was a lovely acoustic performance from the former Throwing Muses frontwoman, where she showcased some of her solo material amidst some Muses favorites. Her throaty vocals and flawless guitar playing kept most of the room silent, that is, apart from those few having a little too good a time last night (and there were a few!) I don’t know if I d ever heard the room at Maxwells sound so good. I wish I could have said the same for the Mike Watt show last week. Cobra Verde opened up, featuring former members of Guided by Voices (and an unfortunate taste in clothing) and few were impressed, though many of us tried hard. Admittedly I was brought against my will. And yes, Mike Watt is an incredible bass player. And he can write good songs. And as a friend told me "he created the DIY aesthetic." And to all those who try to talk me into it, it makes sense. And you can throw me out of your indie rock scene but I have tried, but I am sorry. The man terrifies me. There’s nothing more I can say.     New releases: If anyone is wondering and just happened to read a couple of these reviews (without dying of boredom) the new Ted Leo record finally came out, as mentioned in his review. It’s a difficult listen at points, but worth it. Its called "TejLeo (?), Rx/Pharmacists" and that’s on Gern too! He’ll be doing his solo thing at the Mercury Lounge on Saturday night along with drone pop band Wheat. It will definitely be a show worth checking out. Other upcoming things to check out at Maxwells: The Magnetic Fields tonight, Quasi and Mary Timony on Halloween, Sloan on Nov 7, and Stereolab on Nov 8 (for those of us who were lucky enough to get tix). See you all around. The Mistress. -- Mistress Indie