Hot Snakes at Crescent Ballroom, 3/28/12

Benjamin Horowitz

If you're going to put something your van, it better be a Jesus fish. Otherwise, you're just asking for trouble.

BY BENJAMIN HOROWITZ

Hot Snakes
Crescent Ballroom
Wednesday, March 28

When I heard about the Hot Snakes reunion tour, my first thought was, "that doesn't make sense." The band just didn't seem like the reuniting type. They called it quits in 2005. They certainly didn't have the commercial clout of a nostalgia act from the '80s, nor did they have the false-nostalgia appeal to the hipsterati of any of the reconciled '90s acts (see: Pavement).

And yet, there they were last night, onstage. Singer Rick Froberg chewing gum and battling the "bird flu," glued to the microphone, yowling out his abstract word-picture portrait lyrics. Guitarist John Reis and bassist Gar Wood bouncing around, a huge grin on their faces much of the night. The two drummers, Mario Rubalcaba and Jason Kourkonis, both blurs of motions during their respective turns on stage.

Benjamin Horowitz

Hot Snakes

The crowd, docile for the entirety of the two opening acts' set, lit up the instant the band lit into the woozy "I Hate the Kids" (appropriate, given the fact that the show was 21+). Fists were pumped, crowds were surfed, and stages were dived while the Snakes tore through the majority of their two studio albums, rarely coming up for air.

Then it occurred to me: The Hot Snakes reunion makes perfect sense, because it doesn't really make sense. Everything that makes the band's music great derives from the fact that it simultaneously sounds like it should and shouldn't be happening.

At its best, their songs express the disquietude that can creep into contemporary urban life. The guitars mimic the classic riffage of rock 'n roll, but do so with strings bent, sounding slightly out of tune with one another; sounding menacing, ominous. Familiar but dangerous.

Meanwhile, the rhythm section gallops along underneath, propelling the songs forward, but its never clear what direction forward is. The songs may stop on a dime, shifting radically in dynamics, or they may remain constant, bludgeoning. On top if it all are Froberg's lyrics. The songs eschew narrative for imagery, and the combination of all these styles creates something much more than the sum of its parts.

After nearly an hour on stage, the band relented to the crowd's requests for an encore. They seemed genuinely energized by the enthusiasm of the crowd. It didn't play as one of those expected encores, because the band had held nothing back from the set list. They played three more songs, including covers of The Big Boys and X.

As the final chord rang out, it was clear that everybody in the room would probably want to show up if the band decided to reunite in another seven years (or sooner). Maybe they will; maybe they won't. Probably not. But here's hoping.

Critic's Notebook: 

Last Night: Hot Snakes, Mrs. Magician, and Spider Fever at Crescent Ballroom

 Personal Bias: A certain friend of mine has taken to calling his bowel movements "hot snakes," which is pretty disgusting.

The Crowd: Featuring members of Jimmy Eat World, Landmine Marathon, Destruction Unit, and probably many others. 

Overheard in the Crowd: "Wait, which band is this? How many more bands?" - during the opening acts' sets, about a million times

Random Notebook Dump: The Crescent may want to rethink the quotation marks on the chalkboard where it says Al Pastor "Pork" Burrito.

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Location Info

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Crescent Ballroom

308 N. 2nd Ave., Phoenix, AZ

Category: Music

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Hot Snakes, Mrs. Magician, Spider Fever

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Johnny Cook

Um...the Hot Snakes released 3 records...and its kinda disappointing that there is no mention here of these guys being Rock n Roll royalty either...This band is a Supergroup although most have never heard of any of the genius that they created before and during this bands career...Let me learn you...Gar Wood was and is the cornerstone of a few bands...His band Fishwife was the first to release an album on the legendary label Cargo/Headhunter and then went on to release 2 more albums. Their album Ritalin was produced by John Reis. Then Tanner this bands debut "Ill Gotten Gains"was produced by Mark Trombino (of Drive Like Jehu, and producer of many records including Jimmy Eat World, and a Myriad of San Diego Indie Bands) and released on Caroline Records. Gar also plays in the Night Marchers as do John Reis and Jason Kourkonis. His other band is also notable as well, Beehive and the Barracudas who coincidentally are on the bill when the Hot Snakes play Long Beach and back home in San Diego at the Casbah. Rick Froberg and John Reis have had a musical history since 1989 when the released Pitchfork "eucalyptus + Saturn outhouse ep" then the went on to create Drive Like Jehu... For Music Junkies Look those bands up and you'll discover the foundation that makes this Hot Snakes band even more special. John Reis leader of the Night Marchers, Rocket from the Crypt, the Sultans, Drive Like Jehu, Back Off Cupids, ...and his own label Swami Records walks on water back home in San Diego and is a highly regarded music historian by those who were interested enough to listen to his radio show Swami Sound System. Rick Froberg also fronts the Sub Pop band Obits and is an extraordinary illustrator who has been supplying imagery to merchandise and album artwork from the beginning of his musical career. Jason Kourkonis also was in Delta 72, and Burning Brides continues to beat the skins in an effortless fury smiling at Gar on stages as he amazes everyone with how his precision is as organic as his own breathing. Mario Rubalcaba was not only the singer guitar player of last nights first band Spider Fever he is also the drummer in the band OFF he has played with many other acts such as Pinback, and the Black Heart Procession all after he was a Professional skateboarder. So to have such a ho hum review of the significance of this band makes me a little sad...I been blown away by this band a number of times in my life live but all day long today I've had a shuffle playlist of all of my favorite San Diego Bands including Pinback, Rocket From the Crypt, Pitchfork, Chune, Tanner, Steve Poltz, the Blackheart Procession, Creedle, rust, Drive like Jehu, Tom Waits, Buddy Blue, Heavy Vegatablr, Three Mile Pilot, Rob Crow, and the Hot Snakes and every time the Hot Snakes have come on I've turned it up and had a daydream at how epic this band is.

matt m

Excellent synopsis and introspect regarding how prolific this band's lineage is Johnny Cook... and thank you for giving love to Chune... horribly unknown! Got to see them once at the Nile! I Did a couple of shows for Creedle, loved them... wished others did! Mario was also in Clikatat Ikatowi and legendary hardcore band 411.

Johnny Cook

Incidentally I knew Chune personally because the drummer in bands i was in was the drummer of the first band Lance and Mike of Chune were in. They also were produced by Mark Trombino. Thanks for the props Matt it pained me to see such an uninformed or unignited passion toward anything related to the hierarchy of San Diego indie music and it felt right to set the record straight.