Concert review: Erase Errata at the Rock & Roll Hotel in Washington, DC · Apr 19, 07:49 PM by Don
Last week I was in Washington, DC, where I saw Erase Errata at the Rock & Roll Hotel on April 9. First, let me say that seeing a show sans cigarette smoke is a refreshing change of pace. DC enacted a smoking ban in 2006 that extended to bars and nightclubs this past January. I saw Sebadoh last month at a smoke-choked Shank Hall here in Milwaukee. Milwaukee (or Wisconsin) needs to fall in line with other major cities and ban smoking. A popular argument for not banning smoking is that it drives away customers. Both shows I saw in DC were well attended, especially considering they were Monday and Tuesday night shows.
Erase Errata played a short but satisfying set at the Rock & Roll Hotel. The R&R Hotel is something like a blend of two Milwaukee venues: the now-defunct Globe and the Cactus Club. The primary stage and audience space is not big, but it makes for a cozy show. Upstairs is a second bar, games, and plenty of couches. Though I said EE’s set was satisfying, it did seem like the band was phoning it in a bit. Here’s what I wrote about a much better performance at Intonation 2006:
Erase Errata, second on the bill at 1:30, was a powerhouse, rocking hard despite the thin crowd. Ellie Erickson’s bass throbbed and snapped with epileptic fury. Bianca Sparta held it down on the drum kit, all while holding a drumstick and a maraca in her right hand. Singer Jenny Hoyston sprayed splatterpunk guitar mess into the air, along with lyrical fireballs. A quick label for this band might be “art punk.” Though another way I can try to describe to you the band’s fractured, frantic music is to say they’re logical heirs to the Minutemen’s throne. This is more true than ever, now that the band is a trio (second guitarist Sara Jaffe quit sometime after the release of At Crystal Palace).
I did not take notes on the set list, but the band did play the twitchy “Rider,” from its latest, Nightlife. Here is the studio version:
mp3: Erase Errata – Rider :: from Nightlife (2006)
The band did not play its cover of the Who’s “Boris the Spider,” but did play it at the Hideout Block Party in Chicago a few years back. Just today I found an mp3 of a studio version.
mp3: Erase Errata – Boris the Spider :: Who cover from 2003 Peel session
None of my photos of the band turned out, so please be satsified with pics of the venue and flyer.
Timedoor Policy Memo: All songs posted by Enik during a given month will be purged during the first week of the third month. For example, all January songs will be taken down early in March, all February songs will be taken down early in April, and so on. Enjoy!
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