Download: The Henry Clay People “Working Part Time”

(from “Working Part Time” out now on JAXART)

Fresh off their first national tour, the Henry Clay People reaffirmed their status as the best live band in Silverlake, with a raucous set that included the destruction of a perfectly fine keyboard, lots of onstage guests and some kick-ass rock and roll. It was the kind of performance you typically have to wait at least a couple Mondays for, but this was just the opening week of their Monday night residency at Spaceland. The club was packed with drunken locals, many of whom joined the band onstage at one point or another. Spaceland filled up by 9:30, and at 10, there was a line down the street. Though the crowd was psyched for Mike Watt (who performed in the 10pm slot) they were there for the headliners. They opened with “Something In The Water,” and within a few songs, singer Joey Siara was on his back after crashing into and destroying the keyboard of Jordan from Marvelous Toys, who was readying to join in for a song. It was a nasty fall, but it was nothing Siara hasn’t dealt with before. The Siara Brothers (younger Andy plays lead guitar) combine the musical craftsmanship of classic rockers like Springsteen and Petty with the reckless abandon of the early Replacments. Joey hit the ground hard and without missing a beat, continued playing guitar with a sick zen smile, while trying to figure out how—and I suspect ‘if’—he could get back up to his feet. Who am I to tell him that those tumbles will hurt when he reaches his 30s? Henry Clay People songs are forever in their 20s anyhow, with themes of holding onto the good times and trusting in the serendipity of youth while resisting the call of adult monotony. They sing about getting drunk and hanging out and skipping work and figuring out how to keep the dream alive. The band (which recently replaced their rhythm section) has had time to solidify during their month on the road opening for Airborne Toxic Event, and you could tell that they were extra-psyched to play back on their home floor. In the Henry Clay tradition, they finished their set with a lot more people on stage than when they started. To be honest, by time they played their cover of the Stones’ “Honky Tonk Women” to close their set, I was so wasted, I couldn’t tell if they had all the members of Airborne Toxic Event onstage with them because I was seeing 1 ¼ people for every person at that point. The great part is that considering there was no stage diving and only one moderately scary wipeout—and I never saw more than a dozen or so (actual) people on stage at the same time—is that this was probably their mild show.

—Scott Schultz