Photos and review by NOTES FROM VIVACE
LOS ANGELES – The Dale Crover Band stopped by Zebulon as part of a 50-city tour that spans across the globe in support of the upcoming album, Glossolalia. The Zebulon night was part of a 5-stop headlining tour across Southern California while the other stops have the band opening for Dale Crover’s popular outfit, Redd Kross. After the tour ends in the middle of November, he just might need the American Red Cross to come in and help with his recovery or perhaps he’ll just be ready to eat a whole stuffed turkey.
The Dale Crover Band includes Dan Southwick on bass who knows how to put on a show. Toshi Kasai took on the duty of playing the keys and scratching the lap steel guitar. Playing drums was indie Los Angeles drummer Mindee Jorgensen who plays with the band ModPods and brought an added enthusiasm to the night. She also appears to be the Instagram social media guru for the band.
Fronting the band was Dale Crover himself, the longtime drummer of the Melvins, though on this night his duties were mostly on lead guitar. In regards to the Melvins, some in the audience had attended the King Dunn show earlier in the month at the Lodge Room, making it a double feature for the month.
The night started off with “Bad Move.” The audience needed no reminder of his drummer background, but just in case the song started off with Crover playing a hypnotic drum rhythm on his personal drum kit that was set up at the front of the stage. The band shifted to a blues driven song in “United Fruit” that had Kasai scorching Zebulon with his lap steel guitar. Crover meanwhile took on the mantle of B. B. King.
Melvins’ cover “Dead Wipe” got an enthusiastic response from the crowd. It did not go unnoticed that at least one piece of equipment on the stage had “Melvins” written across the top, the sharing of equipment for the band members’ individual tours. The band then launched into the new album, playing six songs in a row from Glossolalia.
“Kitten Knife” had bassist Southwick taking the I-Know-I’m-A-Cool-Bassist stance on the stage. “Doug Yuletide” had Crover using his vocals to turn the song into a psychedelic trip. “Jane” had Jorgensen pitching in with layered vocals. “Shark Like Overbite” had Kasai shining on the keys. For the song “Ring,” opener Rob Crow came up on stage to give the song a touch of country; he also provided vocals on a handful of other songs.
The set ended with another song from the upcoming album, “I Quit.” The title was a perfect way to end the set. Of course, no one was fooled by that song title and they expected an encore or two – especially as Southwick could be seen tuning up for the encores. The night ended with “The Bit” where Crover went off on the drums.
The set was an hour plus of aggressively, driven rock that entertained the audience. From that first drum beat of “Bad Move” to those final drum beats of “The Bit,” there was no relaxation. Crover showed off his multi-instrumental prowess by switching up between guitar, bass, and drums throughout the set along with his raw vocals. The night ended with the crowd raising their arms and clapping the performance.
As mentioned, the opener was Rob Crow. His math rock set was filled with covers, songs from his various bands such as Goblin Cock, and some originals. He played his solo set on the far stage right, the exact spot where he also went on stage while backing up the Dale Crover Band. He showed off some fancy acoustic guitar playing. At times, it was like watching someone transforming a Flamenco set into an indie rock performance with fingers flying in rapid fashion.
Dale Crover Band setlist: Bad Move, United Fruit, El Stupido, Dead Wipe, Kitten Knife, Doug Yuletide, Jane, Shark Like Overbite, Glossolalia, Rings, The Bowie Mix, Little Brother, Hillbilly Math, I Quit. Encores: I Can’t Help You There, The Bit.
Rob Crow setlist: So Way, Kill Pigs, Little Man, Nice Chaps Buddy, Sophiestructure, Not It, My Ward, Whole Kite, Thread, Moon Over Marin, Thread and Karo, Disco Blues, Quick Being Dicks, Taste, If You Driver, Dragonfucker, Haint, Light Drizzle, Bully, Jr.
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