Talk about being in indie-rock snob heaven. Friday night I rolled into Austin, in defiance of all Texas state laws, to see Sonic Youth. The Meat Puppets opened to a packed (and stoned) house. The crowd was more on the older side, people who lost their virginity to Goo on vinyl plus a smattering of younger kids brought in by last year’s Rather Ripped.
Imagine my surprise, as I peered over all the shaggy hair and pot smoke, to see former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold laying it down, hiding behind Lee Ranaldo. The girl I was hanging out with couldn’t believe it either. Just when I noticed Ibold, a bald dude in a Wowee Zowee shirt grabs me and screams, “Fuckin’ Ibold, bro!!!” Turns out Ibold has been making appearances with Sonic Youth for about a year now; it was like seeing Kim Thayil play with Pearl Jam.
By the way, “Teenage Riot” is still a pit-churner. And Stephen Malkmus needs to cut this solo monkey business and get the crew back together for one last score. As for the Black Lips show down the street at Emo’s? Didn’t make it. Let’s just say the turbulent tides took the Blogmobile elsewhere. – Craig Hlavaty
