After spending the day picking up elephant dung from a suburban Long Island street, I could only hope I lent an exotic air to the haute pègre-studded benefit for Penny-Ante at Cake Shop.  The show featured musicians with hefty band resumes: Sonic Youth, Townes Van Zandt, Phantom Limbs, Live Skull, Silver Apples and so on.  However, the crowd was a little thin–only the most dedicated and unemployed come out on Wednesday nights.

Loto Ball Show was setting up when I arrived.  Loto Ball (Phantom Limbs) shuts up his bearded hype man mid-rant by swatting the microphone away from his face.  His hype man exaggerates the real hurt he feels inside and turns his back to the audience.  Loto is compelled to apologize.  They hug and all is forgiven.  Their sound has those same mixed signals, alternating from friendly pop to apoplectic madness.  Loto Ball’s manic trumpet and hype man’s percussive beetle wing earring added a tense post-punk dub vibe to the otherwise familiar sound of Phantom Limbs/Le Shok-era punk rock.  Rounding out the rogue’s gallery were a Farrah Fawcett-Minor type keyboard player, a slick bassist, a nerdy guitarist and a mercenary drummer.

Pocahaunted played one long song that embodied their name—a haunting tribal chant played low to the ground–the only one standing was the singer whose microphone was off for the first five minutes.  Eventually, the sound problem was figured out and Pocahaunted built up the pressure then released spiraling shrieks like spirits of a desert monsoon.

Bridez, Indian Jewelry and Int’l Shades I missed unfortunately.  It was late on a Wednesday night and I had a demeaning job to do in the morning.  I like the Cake Shop; they don’t turn up their noses at those who reek of animal shit.

– Jon Hustad