Thurston Moore is playing at The Smell. I repeat. Thurston Moore is playing at The Smell.

Reading that as I was browsing the Internet made me freak out a little. But then again, my brain functions differently when it comes to seeing bands and musicians that I grew up listening to. Where most people are like, “Awesome! Hell yeah! Thurston Moore at The Smell for $8″, I get nauseated and worried, especially at places like The Smell where artists are known for walking around and casually talking to the crowd. I get nervous at the thought of possibly meeting Thurston Moore. Why? Because whenever I meet someone that has some type of fame or overall inspiration and respect in their field and craft, I act like a total loser. I ramble on and on, end up saying something embarrassing, then try to mend the dumb things I say with laughter and a smile, while my brain is just kicking me in the ass saying, “Good one, Kramer”. While sitting around The Smell as the 67 openers played, Thurston Moore walked by me, several times, and relatively close. I wanted to avoid looking like an asshole, so I just scribbled in my notepad.

For those whom may not know, Thurston is the male vocalist/guitarist/brains behind Sonic Youth. There are so many things that I wouldn’t understand if it wasn’t for me growing up listening to Sonic Youth. They’ve been making records since the early 80s and were one of the key forces in the New York distorted, post-punk, inharmonious, destructive, noise-rock scene, and they still carry that torch high, not changing for anyone. All 4 members are ambitious, creative individuals that always attempt to work outside of the Youth. Thurston Moore released his first solo album, Trees Outside the Academy, since 1995’s Psychic Hearts in September 2007, and was very much like the Sonic Youth material before. Thurston began to play and it was nothing like I was expecting. I was expecting some of his other solo stuff like “Frozen Gtr” or even a Youth gem, but there was no microphone, no band, no set.

All there was, was Thurston with an electric guitar and amp, standing there with his dirty blonde hair in his eyes and proceed to play. He began to screech and torture the guitar for all it was worth, milking it of every ungodly sound and scream that it could produce. The sound was loud and heavy static, and when I got on my tiptoes to look at him, he had a metal rod and was just penetrating the shit out of the strings of the guitar. The cries of the guitar seemed to not be cohesive, but then I started to listen to it. The static had a flow and meaning. It was destructive and off-the-wall bonkers, but there was something strangely beautiful about this clamor and racket. It was incredible. He was doing something that was so different, so anti-pop, anti-media, anti-everything that Thurston Moore was always saying, “fuck you” to for the past 20+ years.

As the thuds, crash and weeping of the guitar increased in sound and energy, Thurston’s body seemed to morph with the sound, acting like it’s echo. His body quivered and shook as he dived into the audience, where everyone was trying to touch him and his guitar. His eyes were closed and seemed entranced. He is still to this day deeply connected with the noise-rock sound that he helped pioneer. The usage of the metal rods created a profane, sinful resonance and reverberation throughout The Smell, and everybody was staring, mouth and minds opened. It sounded like what would be played in the lowest pit of Hades.

I guess what working at Loudvine has taught me is that no matter how old I get, how much musical knowledge I may obtain, no matter how many gigs I go to, internally I’m still that 16 year old awkward weirdo with huge black hair and horrible eyesight who was too worried about what was in my brain to care about how I looked, and in a way, Sonic Youth brought that out in me. I always felt like they were 16 years old kids that were tired of bullshit 80s radio and made what they wanted. They were always self-satisfactory artists, who liked what they made and didn’t give a fuck if your parents hated it. This show was an experience rather than just another show. It doesn’t matter when Thurston Moore will play again, where, or for how much. I’ll always go see him.

B. Kramer
www.loudvine.com