Mudhoney w/Quest For Fire @ The Horseshoe

Admittedly I didn't put a lot of thought into what I was doing when I picked up tickets to see Mudhoney at The Horseshoe on Friday night. My reasoning was all like, "Mudhoney is soooo awesome and I can't wait to see them rock out and stuff cuz I loved them when I was 19 and junk!" The thing is that it completely slipped my mind that I'm not 19 anymore. Shoulda thought about that. The show reminded me pretty fast of my fragile tender age, but apparently I was the only one. As the crowds started closing in, I knew that I wasn't going to be hanging around the stage for very long.

Still, this doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the show. Mudhoney are one of the original grungesters and even though I've always lumped them more into a garage rock category myself, there's no denying the influence they've had on the genre. The new millennium saw the band pumping out some new material once again, and they've just released their latest album The Lucky Ones, which shows that they can still rock out in all of their Stooges inspired glory. Mark Arm still has all of the attitude and swagger that one would expect, refusing to act his age which I can't help but somewhat respect. It was also really cool to hear classics like Touch Me, I'm Sick on the live stage, which sounded amazing. What I always liked about Mudhoney, which set them above bands like Soundgarden and Pearl Jam for me, is that they never appeared to take themselves as seriously, almost poking fun at the fans as much as they embraced them. About 45 minutes into their set however, I felt satisfied with what I was able to see, and the mature responsible man inside of me reasoned that it was time to take my leave. And boy, did I respect myself in the morning.

Photos: Mudhoney @ The Horseshoe on flickr
Myspace: Mudhoney
Video: Into the Drink on youtube

Opening for Mudhoney was local band Quest For Fire, whose praises I have enthusiastically sung a couple of times before. They've already released my favourite local album of the year so far, and seeing them perform again was as exhilerating as ever. The band likes to use the subtle attack approach, which means that many of the songs start out with a drone before exploding in your face with a barrage of psychedelic ambiance. The band is also beyond tight, and you'd be excused for thinking that they've been playing together for twenty years. Buy the album; go to the show. 'Nuff said.

Photos: Quest For Fire @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Quest For Fire
Video: I've Been Trying To Leave on youtube