When this assignment was handed down to me, I admit I was fairly excited. Thursday has always been one of those guilty pleasures and Minus the Bear is one of those “heard of them, but never heard them” bands. For a number of weeks now I have been itching to attend a show at the “new and improved” Java Jazz Coffeehouse, and this looked like the perfect opportunity…perfect opportunity to be thoroughly disappointed.

For those of you who do not know, Java Jazz is a small family-owned coffeehouse. Its original location near Old Town Spring began to hold small local shows a few years back. The place was tiny, in the middle of nowhere, it had small ceilings, minimal parking and a small stage, but it was a great little spot for the lesser known high-school bands to showcase their talents. The place even offered complimentary smoothies to their loyal live music fans. However, somewhere along the way this place decided to start booking larger bands, and with that came the need for a new location.

Over the past few months I have noticed a gradual increase in the capacity of the bands that have started to book here. Now larger bands is a gross understatement. I’m talking major label, touring acts that have played arenas and huge fests across the country and now they have chosen Java Jazz as their Houston stop? I know it’s not a lack of venues, as Houston has more than enough adequate facilities for shows of this magnitude (especially on a Wednesday night). As Chris and I began our trek to this new far away venue, I started to ask myself, “This place has got to be huge.”
Needless to say we passed the venue twice before we found it tucked into the corner of a poorly lit shopping strip, sans signage. The parking was very tight with little to no lighting and no lot security. The place was small, infinitely smaller than id envisioned and infinitely smaller than id hoped for the sake of the acts that were scheduled to play. As far as capacity, think of Instant Karma (RIP) with a similar sized stage and roughly double the capacity. The walls were black and the house lighting consisted of several construction grade fluorescents with black or red lights, something more akin to an old laser tag joint.

Since the place is definitely a trek from downtown and like trying to find a needle in a haystack, we managed to miss the opening band, We’re All Broken. The second band, Number 12 Looks Like You, was preparing to start when we got in. The band was the a mix between post-hardcore/experimental with two vocalists that disguised any possible musicianship the rest of the band may have by simultaneously screaming over the “music” The horrid duality of these guys’ voices made me appreciate the frequent PA problems that were had throughout their set. While mildly interesting, in my opinion these guys did not belong on this bill. They finished up with a sloppy rendition of The Knack’s My Sharona.

After figuring out the only way to the photo area was either through a sea of people or over the stage, I made my way through the back area, onto the stage, and into the photo pit. The area between the barricade and the stage was super tiny, which wasn’t so much of a problem for the third band, Minus the Bear. The sound system at Java Jazz is apparently run by a group of amateurs, as it took nearly 30 minutes to get the sound anywhere near decent (this is where the token 45 year old sound guy with bad tattoos, a Budweiser hat and a motorhead shirt comes in handy) Minus the Bear was impressive. They had a definite original sound that made excellent use of an extensive array of pedal-based effects and subtle synth. It’s been quite a while since I’ve heard guitar work of this caliber. Their affinity for creative song titling doesn’t hurt either. After the standard three songs I packed up my gear and was forced into the sea of people and out onto the “patio” area, which is basically a outdoor, non-lit area partitioned off by a high chain link fence.

It seems like yesterday Thursday was that new band that no one had ever heard of and now, years later, as veterans, they are still doing their thing. I can honestly their that their new stuff is just as good as their earlier albums, something that is hard to say about a lot of bands today. These guys went off with energy like no other. Frontman, Geoff Rickly never skipped a beat, passing the mic to eager fans and engaging his audience, all while suffering through a bad case of bronchitis. The workers that were supposed to be protecting the fans and us (the media) were too busy singing along to pay attention to their responsibilities. Kids were going everywhere. Although I liked the fact that the venue passed out a limited number of water bottles to the exhausted crowd between sets, the management needs to take venue security a little more seriously. Some high school kid with bleached tips, a lip ring and some girl pants is anything but intimidating. Last time I went to the Meridian the security looked like a pack of Navy Seals. I guess its going to take that one fight, or that one girl who faints from exhaustion to make these guys understand how to properly hold shows like this.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I would rather see Thursday somewhere like the Toyota Center or anything, and believe me from a fan’s standpoint I’m all for the smaller venues with little to no stage, but from the band’s and my point of view (being a member of the media) Java Jazz leaves much to be desired. This is pretty bad coming from someone who has been Straight Edge for about 8 years, but what’s with this place not having a bar nor allowing smoking? Ok, on one hand I am relieved that I don’t have to smell like a pack of cigarettes when I go home or have to deal with that one drunken guy that just came to the show to get smashed, but come on! On the other hand, half of these stiff, frat boy types that are attending the shows today NEED to down a Lonestar or two. We have to face the facts, there was a time when the bands of this genre played $5 shows at places like Urban Underground with maybe 20 kids that bought merch behind the venue out of a van, but those days are gone. If I am going to pay over $20 for a show (which I never would by the by) the venue better not look like Java Jazz. – Todd Spoth www.toddspoth.com

http://www.thursday.net
http://www.minusthebear.com
http://www.itsnumber12time.com/
http://www.wereallbroken.com/
http://www.shirtsforacure.com/