What time are you playing?" It's a text many local musicians have received and it's possibly even more annoying than asking for guest list, especially since the answer is always "show o'clock." This is a town with notoriously late start times and lineups that play it fast and loose, so Old Blood's Josh White and band manager Stephanie Purcell decided to have a little fun. The two came up with Russian Roulette, an evening of embracing randomness, with none of the danger.
Six bands—Alright Already, Black Moor, Glory Glory, Kuato, Old Blood and The Town Heroes—will have their slot in Saturday's lineup at the Seahorse left up to the fates. Three Sheet's Vanessa Furlong will spin the chamber to see which band gets the bullet.
"The original idea was simply to have a show with a completely random order, so that every band had an equal shot at being the opening act or the headliner," says White. "The other aspect of the night was getting the audience out to the show a little earlier. A lot of fans are missing out on great bands because they only show up for the headliner set and I've been guilty of that as well. With this event, whatever band is your headliner of the night might be the first band on stage."
It's a heavy bill with six bands, but the structure of the night should keep things hopping along. Each band has 15 minutes from the time its name is called till the first note. Plus, White and Purcell have organized a merch prize pack door prize for the first 50 attendees.
Quite a bit of bang for your buck, something White thinks is important during the more freezing evenings. "In one show you get a good taste of what the scene has to offer—from post-rock instrumental to '80s thrash metal to grunge-influenced alt rock and just about everything in between," he says. "There's a great lineup, a theme to the evening, door prizes and a host. It all adds to the event and makes it more compelling to attend the show—especially if it's -20 outside."
Russian Roulette show
w/Alright Already, Black Moor, Glory Glory, Kuato, Old Blood, The Town Heroes
Saturday, February 2, 10pm, $10
The Seahorse, 1663 Argyle Street