PELICAN 7/28/05 @ Knitting Factory

Being the visual person that I am I've always conjured up images of what a band looks like before I really go and check them out and see what they looked like. (The internet ruined this) For Pelican I had two images in my mind of what they could look like live for the first time.

1. A bunch of big heavy monster metal looking guys. Lots of black, goatees that would make Dimebag happy and tattoos and grimaces that only Kerry King could top. Big drinkers, could beat your ass to a pulp and on occasion destroy their instruments completely. You better be their friends and offer gifts as if they were gods or else!

2. Students of the Nerot/Hydra Head gathering. Quiet introspective dudes that can drink and still rough your ass up gang style like the dudes in the scenario above but generally passive. Again lots of black, chained wallets and those "northern style" beard/crew cut hairstyling's. (A winterized chin strap, extended goatee with the new age crew cut "drift" or bangs in the front)

To my dismay, the guys in Pelican are rather quite normal and would fit in easily in Brooknam-Vietnam. The not so tight jeans, indie thrift store shirts, reasonable guitars and semi-natural who gives a Sh*t haircuts. No mics on stage!? No BSin, no thanks for coming out, just playing! I'm sure some people are calling them the mini-Isis and I've even heard some people like them better then Isis. My head still uncontrollably nods harder to Isis but this band is growing on me. The drummer did have the "northern" hair going on I must note.

Oh yea the show. It was a little hot, humid, the sound was gradually getting "better" throughout the set. We were supposed to get the plus 1 on the list. We only got one so my buddy Ron, pissed just went home so I could check the show. Good lookin! I've been talking about going for like a month. They had a pretty warm reception for the usual "I'm emotionless" NY crowd, and even came out to do a short encore. The sound sounded the best for the last song of the night and I wished they would start over! Hopefully more folks catch the flight of Pelican and they can play a better audio capable venue at Irving or someplace that will turn it up!

Thanks to Hydra Head for a consistent solid roster and a "holy shit" for Big Business being 2 dudes, they rocked. I also have to give a shot out to Horkey@Bulesque Design who is rocking concert posters like there is no tomorrow!

Mines in the mail!