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The most insane thing about Lightning Bolt has to be the first time I saw them.
This was one of the many times I went to see The Locust and Arab On Radar in 2000, this time at the Smell in Downtown L.A. While I was waiting outside, some kid was running around in a panic saying "Is Lightning Bolt playing tonight? Do you know? If they're not, there's no reason for me to be here." I didn't know who he was talking about, I thought "Lightning Bolt? Who are they?"
I filed in with the handful of people who arrived early and saw the set up...A drum set and a really huge amp rig...
Brian C. was already tinkering with his drum set and Brian G. was still hooking up his stomp switches...
The moment Brian C. made his first rounds around the drum set, I thought "This is going to be interesting"
They started playing and from the first notes, I couldn't move. I wasn't sure what to make of what I was seeing. I'd heard two man bands who rocked it but this was a whole new world...I had no idea how to pin point what they were doing. Later, my friend Jeremy put it best by saying "They're like an organic take on Gabber"...Might not be quite on the nose but it's pretty close...Even though I was still trying to figure out if I liked them or not, I at least knew it stirred my interest enough to merit buying their tour 7 inch...I listened to it 4 times in a row and put it on a cassette, and until I found "Ride The Skies", it the tape stayed in the deck of my beat up 1985 camry.
Since then, I've seen them another 2 times, a headlining show at the Smell where they taped part of "The Power Of Salad..." and when they were on "Oops, the tour" at the Glassghouse in Pomona,Ca.
Can't wait till they come out again...
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