The Wrens, the Dead Science, and Low Flying Owls
Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA
February 28, 2004

V and i hooked up with Lance to attend one of the Noise Pop Festival shows, the Wrens at Bottom of the Hill. We first however popped into Chai Yo on Polk for some yummy yummy Thai food with Greg and Roo beforehand. We made it to Bottom and had time to grab a drink before the second band, Low Flying Owls, took the stage. I thought they were great. Short description: "Like BRMC, only interesting". And the bass player was dancing up a storm all through the set. The third opener was the Dead Science from Seattle. They played experimental rock, sort of like Mogwai meets Can. Lance and i thought they were pretty good, but Veronica marked them down as 45 minutes of pure boredom. The Wrens finally went on around midnight, and were fantastic. The set included both the simple but powerful melodies of The Meadowlands as well as the more straightforward indie rock of their previous albums Secaucus and Silver. The boys from New Jersey had a great rapport and were as entertaining between songs as during them. We stood just to the right of the stage (where the band enters and exits the stage, if you're familiar with Bottom) ... some of the anxiety of guessing the next song was dimmed for me because i could see the guitarist's multi-effects pedal, which had a digital readout that said things like "Happy Intro" or "She Sends 1". They somehow managed to avoid playing "This Boy Is Exhausted", but that is my only relatively minor complaint about an otherwise great show.

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