river rat: We Are Country Mice Downtown trawling for, who knows what -- interesting things? I'm not sure. More like post-band-practice-bar-crawling than that, as trawling requires a net out that's been designed to catch a specific species or broadly corral organisms in general.
Come to think of it, maybe casting a net is the right way to describe the sloshing, jostling walks down Fayetteville and Wilmington Streets in downtown Raleigh on a rapidly cooling, Indian summer's night after a damn near perfect day. Dragging a long line in search of cherries to pile on top, and a blast of NO2-driven whipped cream product to fluff out the top of the 'dae.
Which leads me to Slims. Live music, hardly anyone inside @ 10:45. The blurred Sharpie-drawn piece of cardboard said: We Are Country Mice, $3.00 cover. My son could've done better and thinking that, as the bouncer broke a twenty, I was ready to dismiss the four guys on stage as locals playing their first gig out.
But oh, how I can be so very wrong.
We Are Country Mice hail from Brooklyn and, after popping a cold can of PBR, I realized I'd better hold it up to my cheek as the four dudes on stage were melting my face into my lap. Dressed in flannel and white tees (as per some indy rock handbook distributed uniformly across the world) and standing almost still while playing, We Are Country Mice bring plenty to the world of rock.
Ben Bullington - guitar
Jason Rueger - guitar
Kurt Kuehn - drums
Mike Feldman - bass
Had I been given a set list before sitting down (mid-set, sorry to say) I would've been taking notes and compiling questions about the songs and their origins, influences, etc. After the show Jason Rueger, lead guitarist and vocalist, wrote down their set and contact info. so at least I could have something to remember through the fog.
Bullet of a Gun and Morning Sun were my favorites, although the well controlled use of various pedals and electronic filters impressed me on other numbers like Sign of the Times and Festival. Wow, these boys do not fear the noise. Checking out their electronics I could see why (along with Slim's crowded on-stage quarters) they were so still. Daisy-chained effects pedals and old school fuzz boxes occupied more stage real estate than all four men.
"Noise is our friend." Jason told me.
Understatement.
It's been two decades since I've heard anyone work feedback so well, looping it back through an amp, cutting it off dramatically for another vocal chorus or verse. Impressive. Mick Ronson, who toured and recorded with David Bowie for more than a decade, would loop and modulate his feedback discreetly with foot pedals and buttons and did so with fantastic effects. Listen to Freak Out in a Moonage Daydream on the Ziggy Stardust... albumfor the guitar loop he plays (live, it was similar but four to five times as long) and you'll get an idea of W.A.C.M.'s Jason Rueger's feedback, performed and manipulated hunkered down twisting knobs and dials like a mad scientist.
As I left for continued stumbling, Kurt, Ben, Jason, and Mike were packing up for a gig in Illinois. They'd never heard of Cat's Cradle or Local 506. Next tour, they said, they'll check it out. So, if you see We Are Country Mice in your neck of the woods, buy them a beer. Or a wedge of cheese.
