I felt old at this show. About seventy-five percent of the crowd at the concert was either under sixteen or over thirty. I got there in time to catch the end of the Squashbloom set. They had a shoegazer influenced sound that was pretty slow and uninspiring. They seemed to be one of those groups that comes over best on disc and suffers in a live setting.
Squashbloom wrapped up fifteen minutes after I arrived. Hazel, a Sub Pop band featured Jody, the drummer from Team Dresch and owner of Chainsaw records. For me, Hazel was the highlight of the evening. They had a three piece set up (drummer, guitar, bass) and Jody and the male guitarist split the singing duties.
Their sound was a pretty straight combination of Olympia style pop/ Seattle variety grunge-punk. I have a lot of respect for Jody, so I don't doubt that Hazel has good intentions, but I had to wonder if maybe they shouldn't give a little more thought to their song writing. Most of the tracks were consistent in that they featured power cords, lame bass playing and excellent drumming. The worst part of the set came on those songs where the male guitarist sang by himself. He looked and sounded like a Thurston Moore rip-off. The highlights of the set came on those songs where Jody and the guitarist combined their voices to create vocals that were reminiscent of those Pixies tracks where Kim and Black Francis sang together.
Jody also took time during the show to tell an extended lesbian joke to the meat head pre-teens who were there cause they like "The Seether". During this period she showcased a wit that outclassed Kathleen Hannah's, as she responded to hecklers with poise and humor.
Hazel finished up the set with a punked out cover of "Tainted Love" that was pretty cool. All in all, I would say that Hazel is certainly a band that lovers of Olympia and Seattle (ugh, but it's true) should check out. Hopefully, as the tour progresses they'll play some solo dates so nobody has to fork over the ridiculous cash that the headliner demands.
As for Veruca Salt, they did play Seether. They were quite perky and Nina and Louise proved adept at striking rock star poses that reminded me of cock-rock at it's best. It was pretty clear that they're nowhere near as talented as their popularity suggests. In particular, both their drummer and bassist suck. Even though I went to this show for free, I left before their set ended, mostly because I got bored waiting for them to finish the encore.
-Scott Pactor