reviews

the noise

goh, eric marcos and three day threshold

sam j. volerricki

middle east corner

when i arrived, three day threshold was crammed onto the corner stage at the middle east, acoustically armed, just beginning their set. the five-piece started with a melodic instrumental, announced as a traditional french canadian fiddle tune. since there was no fiddle in the band, this had me slightly confused. anyway, the song had a nice bluegrass feel and was a good segue to the rest of their stripped-down set. instead of their usual punked-up performance, the band seemed to tone things down a little to fit the ambience of the relaxed corner crowd, some of whom were still eating. but by their last tune, a johnny cash-like ditty about an insane truck driving clown, there where people stamping their feet and clapping their hands. still, this was one of the more conservative three day threshold performances i’ve seen and i was a little disappointed. but i suppose it did fit the rather tame atmosphere of a monday night.

goh was up next and wowed the crowd with their quirky lyrics and upbeat music. goh is a master of the stripped down, minimalist set, possibly due to the fact that goh is only a duo. their performance was highlighted by such originals as "chopping block," and "lucky." a revamped version of prince’s "little red corvette" had the better part of the crowd singing along; reminiscing about their lost teenage years. another cool effect to the whole show was that someone brought some bubble mix and was blowing bubbles in front of the stage. the tiny soapy spheres got caught in the drafts of the air-conditioning vents and created a surreal dreamlike effect as they swirled around the performers. and just like a dream, out of nowhere, eric marcos took the stage as part of his triumphant return to the music industry.

wielding a twelve string rickenbacher, the former mama kin booking agent showcased a number of his songs he has been working on with his new band, normal noises. tonight, eric had the guys in goh fill in as his backing band and the crowd seemed to love it. his opening song had a hard, driving beat and a roadhouse feel that reminded me a little of early tom petty. the second song, "all my fault," was a little more subdued, but was my favorite. it also sounded like it was slightly influenced by petty but it just could have been that eric shares the same thirst for classic americana. or maybe it was that they both play rickenbacher guitars, who knows. i liked it and so did the crowd. it’s too bad Eric’s set flew by so fast, i would have liked to see more.

goh got back in the spotlight and closed out the night with a few more of their tunes, including a hilarious story about an incident about a dog named "the fonz," and a song about aliens. however, it was getting late and i, like the rest of the crowd, had to bust home and figure out a way to sober up and get to work the next morning. great show though.

***