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Bottom of the Hill May 24, 2003 Review by Jake Thomas My first sentiment when walking into Bottom of the Hill was one of surprise à where were all the people? I was under the impression that Calla were another one of those 'hott' New York City bands that would have all the hip kids showing up in their costly second hand clothes from Haight Street. But apparently, I have lost my ability to gauge the popularity of a band in this town. When I got there Jim Yoshii Pile-Up (JYPU) had just started their set. It sounded good. I saw them not too terribly long ago at the Castle, and while that was a decent show the sound there can sometimes be assy. No such problem at Bottom of the Hill, where I can't even really recall a poorly sounding show. Even if the music the band is playing is crap, at least it sounds like it should coming out of the speakers. Of course, the music coming out of said speakers while JYPU are playing is far from crap and rather quite enjoyable, mesmerizing even. It's also nice to see the guys in the band facing out to the crowd a little more than they used to. Seems like the first time they were all cramped together in a little group with their backs to the crowd, like something you might see when Neil Young and Crazy Horse get into those extended solos on Jim Jarmusch's documentary 'Year of the Horse'. Nice to see your faces, boys. Speaking of the sound, when Calla played it was resplendent. So crisp and clear; you could hear every pluck of the bass, strum of the guitar, strike of the drum kit. It was hard to believe they could pull off the same atmosphere live that the album has, but they did. The place may not have been packed, but there was still plenty of people there and they seemed just as enamored with the band as I was. Their record 'Televise' has been one of my favorites over the last few months, and now I have a live show to mentally picture each time I listen to the CD (which is pretty often actually). They played a lot of tracks from the new record, but there were some that were either new or from the old record. Any and all hype received by this band is well deserved, and I look forward to seeing them prove it to me again à the sooner the better. --- Check out our previous JYPU experiences: Review: April 11, 2003 Edinburgh Castle Photos: March 28, 2002 @ Great American Music Hall & November 18, 2001 @ Great American Music Hall Review: April 22 & 23, 2001 @ Bottom of the Hill w/Arab Strap ©2003 playinginfog.com |