High-Wattage Performance

I thought about writing up a lengthy post about the sublime M. Ward/Mike Watt show at The Fillmore last night, but decided to keep it brief as at least two of my music journalist friends have already done it more justice than I ever could. But hell, I haven't had that good of a time at a Fillmore show since last time Shane MacGowan came to town.

Mike Watt continues to bring the punk well into his late forties, rockin' his thud staff with the enthusiasm and relentless energy of a nineteen-year-old, not even stopping to replace a string broken midway through his set. Didn't matter. He produces a fuller, more dynamic bass line with three strings than most bass players can manage with four, or even five. It doesn't hurt to have M. Ward and former Stooge Steve MacKay available to join you on stage. Watt clearly was excited as well, it appeared to me that he wanted to take a bite out of both Ward's and MacKay's faces at different points in the show. A mindblowing ensemble cover of The Stooges 'Fun House' toward the end of Watt's set seemed like the type of star-studded performance normally reserved for the end of a headliner's set.

It's always perilous to follow a dynamo of an act like Mike Watt and the Secondmen, but what read like an odd pairing actually worked beautifully, as my good friend out by the beach expressed in a much more elegant fashion than I could. Suffice it to say that M. Ward's flawless, throaty, expressive vocals are couched in thoughtful and inventive compositions, a combination that holds it own no matter who the supporting act may be. But since that support was a favorite of the headliner, the pair of them retook the stage for a stirring encore rendition of 'Spoonful'. I'm glad I decided to stay around long enough to see Watt 'lay down the low flow' to buoy Ward's superlative vocals before I grabbed a road soda, and high-tailed it down to The Independent too catch Brooklyn indie buzz band Grizzly Bear's set.