Hans Blix @ Spike Hill 3/6/09

I've added SearchAndRestore to my "most useful go to" arsenal when deciding what I want to do on a given night. Right on the home page they have 3 picks for the night and they are usually phenomenal. I'm finding in spite of how I comb the listings and spend a lot of time figuring out what is going on, they usually have 1-3 shows I didn't know about listed. I'm now accustomed to checking it daily.

I woke up from my nap too late to hit the 2 options I already had for early, they were at 7 and 7:30. But, then I was intrigued by this listing for a band I never heard of and was further intrigued when I listened to some of their stuff on their myspace page. I was further intrigued to finally see a band at Spike Hill in Williamsburg.

I walked in at 10:10 and they came on 5 minutes after. They were scheduled to start at 10, so I was impressed it was pretty on time given the tightness of the schedule. I had the place pictured as possibly starting real late, but I also had a feeling it might be closer to on time from when I've walked by there.

It was a busy night to be trying it out. The bar on the stage side of the establishment was pretty crowded from spillover of the regular bar and it was kind of noisy. Still, I was able to stand close to the stage up front. I was also interested enough to dance for the first tune.

It turned out it wasn't really my thing. A lot of that had to do with the drumbeat. I kept looking for a drum machine and was always surprised to see a live drummer up there. I think it just wasn't something I was into that night. I would like to give it another try some time. It seemed like the same drum beat just playing continuously with no change at all. I hear these tracks and I wonder if it would have been different if I gave it more of a chance.

I decided I should get back to Manhattan for the last set of Jazz Standard and give this band another try on another night. I also want to try Spike Hill again when hopefully more people are there to listen. I am glad for the experience, though.