whiskey
Freight Train Rabbit Killer at Gigantic Records
One of my favorite local bands, Freight Train Rabbit Killer, performed last night at the grand opening of Gigantic Records. They were also celebrating the release of their new album The Ten Year.
FTRK are really hard to describe, but they rock - Doom Blues, American Roots Opera, whatever you want to call it, it’s genuinely unique. Kris Bruders (Freight Train) and Mark Smeltzer (Rabbit Killer) play the crap out of their guitars and Mark’s custom built instruments. They have a dark aesthetic to go along with the music and an ever evolving mythology. They have worked many times over the years with KCAI’s Illustration students to create truly creative, interactive performances. It’s a sight to behold and a sound to melt your brain!
The grand opening last night was fun, but it was also kind of sad. My friends Ann and Marion decided at the end of last year to close their shop (Records with Merrit) and retire. They were hoping to sell the record store to someone they knew (I was tempted!) and they finally handed over the reigns to another friend of theirs who will do a great job, I’m sure. It’s so nice to have a record store half a block from my house! Though I have to say, my wallet has been happier while the shop has been closed the last few months…
If you get a chance, check out Gigantic Records and absolutely catch a Freight Train Rabbit Killer show if you have the chance. They often play at The Ship, in fact, they are going to do another Halloween show with the Illustration students this year.
Check out the video below:
Davenport, Iowa
So we drove to Davenport yesterday to see Low. It took about six hours with stops, not bad, but enough to mess with our backs. I like roadtrips with Maura, we talked and listened to some new tunes on the way up - the new Jack White is pretty good! Once we got to town, we settled into our hotel, then walked around to check out the downtown area. The venue - the Racoon Motel, was right down the street from where we were staying. Next door to it, we found a record shop, Ragged Records, where we found a nice little haul.
We grabbed some dinner at the Front Street Brewery, and I checked the Racoon Motel’s Facebook page while we were waiting on our food. The show had been canceled due to a couple of positive COVID tests. We were seriouly bummed. I’ve been imagining hearing Low’s latest music live for months and we were just hours away from doing so. The show was rescheduled for another Friday in July, which we will make work. We figured we were here so we might as well make a night of it, so we asked our waitress about other spots to check out nearby. She did not dissapoint; there are some pretty great bars in downtown Davenport. First, we figured we should check out the venue since we had come all this way, so we grabbed a beer there, commiserated with the staff, and checked out the stage - it’s a small area; it’s going to be very loud (in July)! After that, we went to a bar with a perfect name: Devon’s Complaint Dept.
They mixed some great drinks, and the bar had a cool retro vibe. We’ve been trying to get out more lately, but I can’t remember the last time we went bar hopping! It’s kind of a shame that we had to drive all the way to Davenport, but the drinks were tasty and way cheaper!
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, we discovered that it was hosting a youth dance competition. There were many families with young girls in way too much makeup and glittery outfits. I’m sure they were having the time of their lives, but we didn’t particularly enjoy the noise levels. The hotel has a central atrium around the rooms; they were very loud and echoey. They were running around until pretty late, which was so much fun for us after a night on the town! We ended up playing Low’s latest album in our hotel room mostly to drown out the noise.
The next morning, I woke up early, as I always do, and walked along the Mississippi. It was a nice walk, though it made me wish that KC had more down by our river front. I never knew that Pelicans like to visit the river this time of year, but I saw several of them!
While it was a huge bummer to have the show rescheduled, it was good to get out of town for a bit. I guess we’ll see you again in July, Davenport, Iowa!