Rock Shows of Note LXXII

Last night was the weirdest. I kept hearing friends' voices through the window outside as people walked past my house -- when they weren't the voices of my friends. I thought I saw a friend walk by talking on her cell phone. It wasn't her -- and she doesn't even have a cell phone. I even thought I heard a friend calling my name at one point. Bizarre. Clearly, I had people on my mind, so I went for a walk around the block to find some.

Stopping by the Middle East to see who was playing, I bumped into Brett Rosenberg, and then I heard some of the music emanating from the back room. Deciding that I liked what I heard even though I didn't know who was playing, I plunked down some money to check out the Fugue. Am I ever glad I did!

They were amazing. And even though I heard just a few songs at the end of their set, I think they are my favorite band of today. Herky-jerky angular guitar stabs punctuating the vocalist's frenetic singing -- and tons of energy. The singer was insane. At one point he leapt off the stage into the crowd, then catapulted himself back on stage in a tuck and roll only to barrel into the guitarist, who collapsed on top of him. They kept playing the whole time, and the guitarist regained his feet without dropping a note, ending the song by throwing his guitar to the floor with a satisfying final squall and thunk. Wow. Well worth seeing live.

I don't remember the name of the next band that played, but they were a five-piece that played energetic alt.rock. The lead singers voice was pretty cool, and the bassist and second guitarist jumped around a lot together. My one gripe was that the band didn't just under-utilize the female vocalist, they pushed her way over to the side so she was almost waiting in the wings. She had a great voice and should be featured more prominently instead of relegated to the edge.