We caught two bands this past week:
Shovels & Rope, the dynamic duo from Charleston, S.C., showed up at Meow Wolf on the Night of the Dead for a blistering show of slapdash folk punk in Santa Fe. Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent are overstuffed with talent. Their songs are clever and soulful, and they swap instruments effortlessly. They don't harmonize so much as shout lyrics at each other. (They're married.)
They featured a bunch of songs from their new album "Bad Blood" and well-placed classics, including from their breakthrough album "O' Be Joyful" (though not my favorite, "Tickin' Bomb." They are natural entertainers, and the vibe they created was o' so joyful. John Paul White, ex of the Civil Wars, opened (wrapping with a cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head").
On a Monday night ("a work night, a school night"), Minutemen alum Mike Watt brought his latest power trio (the Secondmen) to the Launchpad in Albuquerque. Tighter and more focused than his outdoor set at the Growlers' Beach Goth fest two years ago in L.A., Watt soldiered on in the high altitude and thrashed through his deep reservoir of freestyle punk songs from both his days with D. Boon and George Hurley and his varied solo career.
Watt was joined by longtime collaborator Tom Watson on jittery guitar and wunderkind Nick Aguilar a whirlwind on drums. Aguilar looks barely old enough to have a learner's permit but not quite a driver's license (he's actually 22), but sitting up front in the thick of things, he was Buddy Rich flying off the handle, mind-melding with the bass-master Watt. (Give the drummer some!) They communicated with Tourette's-like facial gestures and tongue wags. (Bass in your face!)
They surged out with a vigorous take on "The Red and the Black" (the Blue Oyster Cult song made memorable by both the Minutemen and the post-Boon trio Firehose) and then slashed away with the precise fury of jazzmen on speed. It's comforting to know that the old guy still brings the thunder.
BONUS TRACKS
"Tickin' Bomb":
The Minutemen with "The Red and the Black":
Watt also covered one of D. Boon's finest moments, "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs," still a punk classic:
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