“…Hello, we are Blackbox and we’re here to motherfuckin’ rock…”
Damon of Blackbox
Lights! Cameras!! Rock!!
Hey, DMers, AgentMGD are living the rock star life on TV! She’s back at one of her favorite local venues for another exciting unscripted taping of the Flabby Hoffman Show! Instead of sitting at her usual perch in the balcony for the bird’s eye view of the show, she hung out on the main floor. It gave the reviewer a different perspective of things while watching the taping. For those not too familiar with the mystic of the Flabby Hoffman Show AgentMGD will now explain who and what it’s all about. No one actually knows the true identity of the guitarist (and front man of the Flabby Hoffman Trio) / host behind the Zorro-like mask however he does feature local independent artists / bands for his local cable access show. Seen locally here in Chicago and surrounding areas, his shows are taped live at venues such as Martyrs, Elbo Room and Subterranean. Besides the rockin’ music, there’s also a chance to be part of the show by becoming a contestant (or victim) on the Flabby Hoffman Game Show! Between sets, members of the audience are randomly selected (or chosen) to join “Sloop” Biederman, the Flabby show host, on stage answering 5 quirky questions and win fabulous prizes from Flabby’s treasure vault. The prizes of the night at Subterranean ranged from a pink flamingo pecker thingie to a VHS video or a pocket comb switchblade. Even AgentMGD took one for the Fearless team and was a contestant on the game show. At the end of the review, she’ll reveal what she won.
Wednesday night, this band did a mini 3-song set to get things going at Subterranean. Don’t be surprised while listening to the Flabby Hoffman Trio by the strange stories behind song titles like Lithium Cheesecake or Plutonic Sponge Bath. That’s the way Flabby Hoffman and his band get their rockin’ message of social issues and observations of life across to the audience. Yes, DMers, a Flabby set does include some offbeat information or facts you may not know. The story Chocolate Flavored Bomb Loads was about the drop out rate among high school students in which he’s hoping to raise by 50% by 2010. This little blurb immediately received “Flabby Hoffman for President” from the audience. The Flabby band performed a jammin’ set for the audience. Orange Julius even had the ladies swooning while rockin’ shirtless on the drums. Trust AgentMGD when she says, he was lookin’ hot in the back! Eddie “I’m the Cute One” K and Flabby impressed the reviewer with their guitar skills as they rocked during the songs’ instrumental breaks. Rumor has it that Flabby is secretly working on a CD. So stay tuned to this column for more details, DMers. To catch another taping of the Flabby Hoffman Show, you can find the masked one and the band at www.flabbyhoffman.com or www.myspace.com/flabbyhoffman.
The music from this next band was quite evident of their taste in blues/country rock throughout their set. It was the type of music you would probably hear at a juke joint tucked away somewhere in the bayou. Featured before on the New Music Binge, Goat Motor impressed AgentMGD with an awesome buildup to their opening song which immediately grabbed her attention. What this reviewer liked about this band was the duties of lead vocalist were shared by everyone. Each song Goat Motor performed completely presented different vocal styling from Dusty on bass, Dan on drums and Nate on guitar. Whew! This 3-member band can really sing. For example while performing Settle Down, Dan wowed AgentMGD with his raspy Joe Cocker-like vocals during the blues rock song. On Freewater, Nate had that country rock vocal styling which was cool and enjoyable to hear. The audience thoroughly enjoyed their jammin’ song instrumentals that were hot. Check out the song instrumental to Freewater. You had to be there, DMers, to hear it which the entire band was rockin’ from beginning to end with this amazing southern rock sound. This band had wicked guitar and bass riffs as well as a good drum performance during most of their songs. It was funtastic rockin’ blues/ country rock with Goat Motor especially when Dusty was feeling the rock vibes at the start of one song. Their last song of the set, How Could I Be So Blind, had one hot bass-drum duet during the instrumental until the guitar joined in the mix. This band closed the song and set with a rockin’ buildup that blew away AgentMGD’s ears. Goat Motor has a new ep coming out 6th February however, DMers, you can hear a sneak preview on their myspace page. This is one band you will really have a fun time listening or you can check them out at their next performance on February 24th in Stevens Point, WI where they will be rocking Clark Place. Visit their websites at www.goatmotor.com or www.myspace.com/goatmotor.
The next band is currently recording new ep and has a 2nd one coming out in January 2007. Sleeper Car had a unique sound and look which differs from other indie bands this reviewer had seen before. Though the stage comprised of bass cello, violin, bluegrass steel pedals, guitar and drums, the instruments together produced one awesome sound. It was not your typical rock set up but it was something new and interesting for this reviewer. AgentMGD enjoys seeing bands that try creative ways to bring fresh rhythms and beats to their music like what Sleeper Car did Wednesday. Their 1st song was laced with a rockin’ guitar and bass cello intro with the violin and steel pedals bringing the country/folk rock sound. They even had moments when they took that same rock sound down a notch to become awesome country rock ballads. Compare their two songs (which AgentMGD doesn’t have a title to) and Things Can Be the Same in which the first song was a gentle ballad while the latter had the band returning to their original rockin’ sound. Even their closing song had a jammin’ extended instrumental that rocked! This reviewer was impressed how this type of performance kept the audience’s attention throughout their performance. During certain songs, you could see some dancing to their songs as well as singing along too. AgentMGD also liked the way Mike, the band’s front man on guitar, and his raspy “country boy” vocals would come through over the microphone. Check out Sleeper Car’s Lay Down and you might think you’re hearing Bob Dylan singing this tune and not Mike. Yet, this reviewer does offer a minor suggestion that Mike step away from the microphone a bit to amplify his wonderful vocals. While listening to him sing Holding Me Down, she did like the emotions coming from his voice on the lyrics. If he took one tiny step away from the microphone during the chorus, oh how powerful it could have been reaching the audience with such force. Overall, Mike’s vocals were great in every song Sleeper Car performed. AgentMGD highly recommends you check out Sleeper Car, DMers, and their new country rock sound. Visit their websites at www.sleepercar.com and www.myspace.com/sleepercarband.
Now this last band needs no introduction, DMers. Especially during the taping of the Flabby Hoffman Show, they came ready to rock and rocked out the Subterranean they did! AgentMGD has temporarily lost count how many times she has seen Blackbox perform however each time she sees them, it’s never the same like their last performance. They certainly cranked up the amps and sound as they began with their opening song, Like This. Their performances are sometimes billed as a “show within the show” because of the fine excellent drumming performance of Gregg “The World’s Greatest Drummer” Potter. Don’t worry he didn’t pay the reviewer this time to say that. His drumming captivates an audience wherever they play even while hitting the cymbals on either side of his head and twirling a stick in his left hand. GP knows how to give an audience what they want. He did a mini improv drum solo while Damon tuned his guitar during the middle of their set. Damon totally jammed so hard on his guitar that he cut his finger on a string. That didn’t stop him from rocking out the audience there. He’s also in fine form whenever feeling the rock vibes of their Blackbox hits such as Girls Like You, Only One and Sick with killer guitar riffs during the instrumental break. His bright cherry red hair and sexy singing also attracted the attention of a few chicks in the front Wednesday night. They loved it when he hopped off stage rocking on his guitar on the main floor just for them. Well, DMers, what else can AgentMGD about their performance except Blackbox put on another f*cking awesome show. To catch the fever of Blackbox, visit www.blackboxfever.com or www.myspace.com/blackboxfever. Hear them live every Friday from 4p to 6p CST for Blackbox Fridays on www.fearlessradio.com.
Ok, time to reveal how AgentMGD did during the Flabby Hoffman Game Show. Well after answering 2 out of 5 questions (she still believes question 1 should have been D. – all of the above) and taking one for the team Fearless, she won a VHS copy of Dirty Dancing. “Sloop” revealed that he was Jennifer Grey’s dance double. Fun times, DMers!
Until next time, DMers, support your local indie artists and music.
Peace
AgentMGD
Tanya
ShadowMom
well getting the VHS tape was better than 
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