Throw Me The Statue w/The Brunettes & Nurses (Mohawk 09/11)

This post is a little late but I wanted to cover this show anyway since I was given a pair of free tickets from Austin Town Hall. 

First up on stage at the Mohawk were the Nurses.  Now these guys are ridiculously good and I was super impressed with their sound and HUGE audience they had for being the openers of the opening band, The Brunettes.

the Nurses - Aaron Chapman, John Bowers, and James Mitchell, from Portland, Oregon know how to make some really great and rocking psyhedelic music filled with hints of pop and lots of rock-n-roll in the mix. I could not get enough of these guys! I regrettably missed their set but caught the last few songs. "Catepillar Playground" is an amazing song that will not get out of my head nor can I stop imagining all of the 3D sounds that hit me like a wall while I stood in the waaaaay back of the Mohawk straining to see these guys in action. I gotta see them again when they come into town. There weren't even posters left on the walls at the Mohawk for these guys after they played. All those hipsters tore them off before I could read their new album name, Apple's Arce.

Next up - The Brunettes representin' New Zealand.  I was dancing this whole set by a non-rotating fan in that muggy room at the Mohawk when these folks took the stage. Happy hand claps, triangles, and even a glockenspiel made the crowd move and all the tough guys dance around like little school girls. I especially loved the song Red Rollerskates and their cover of Lovesong by the Cure was absolutely sweet and smooth to hear on a rainy 09/11 night.  I swear The Brunettes have a new album that they have released on their own despite being signed to Lil' Chief Records and later I learned they belonged to SubPop in 2005.  Look out for these guys and gals because their poppy go lucky sound was addicting like red Popsicles on a hot summer day.

Throw Me the Statue took me by surprise.  I wasn't sure what I was expecting but I definitely didn't think I would become a HUGE fan after seeing these guys, much less listen to Creaturesque over and over again.  From Seattle, front man Scott Reitherman sang his heart out on the opener "Ancestors" and sweated a few buckets (I mentioned earlier that there was no rotating fan inside the Mohawk so only a few guys were hogging the air) on those in the front row.  "Ancestors", a song appropriately about Austin, Texas is definitely an ideal song to hear while riding your bike down Guadalupe on a Sunday afternoon - it makes you feel right at home.
Throw Me the Statue's new album. Creaturesque is all around a great album that makes you dance, clap your hands, and wanna give the guys next to you high fives for their high kicks during some of these songs on this album. I picked up my own copy of Creaturesque after the show and was able to compliment the band in person while they stuck around and talked to some of their fans. They were great live and the energy these guys had was so addicting that I could not stand still for very long after their first note.

Songs I couldn't stay put while standing super close to the front and my ears are still kinda ringing even 6 days later: "Hi-Fi Goon", "Waving at the Shore" and "Conquering Kids".

Thanks again to Austin Town Hall for opening my ears to three more GREAT bands that were VERY, VERY excellent live! :o) Great sound at the Mohawk that night too! Kudos to the front of house sound man!

More pictures by Rory Collins: