By the spring of 2009, I had written off going to SXSW. My dealings with SXSW proper had discouraged me from doing another Chunklet party and my further dealings with one particular shithead promoter I had helped further sealed the deal. Screw it. I wasn’t going.
Then I found out that Mayyors, a scrappy band with two singles to their name, were doing four shows in Austin. To my fevered brain, this was a game changer. Now, I get to hear a ton of new music. And this band? I don’t know. It was like a punch to the throat. And deep down? I knew they’d be just tremendous to watch perform. And boy, I wasn’t wrong.
I asked my lovely and overly understanding wife three days prior if she’d mind if I went to Austin solely to see Mayyors and she was agreeable to the idea. In an effort to save money on plane flights (Atlanta to Austin is super expensive for some reason), I flew into Houston, rented a car and bee-lined to downtown Austin. I arrived around sunset and immediately planted myself at Spiro’s for the WFMU/Aquarius Records showcase which had no shortage of bands that I was thrilled to see. I mean, hell, I finally got an opportunity to see the six-person line-up of Major Stars. That’s enough right there, huh?
But Mayyors hit the stage and were everything I had anticipated. Short. Sharp. Swirling. Punishing. Brilliant. Everybody that was in the front row of their performance I’d see the next day as I went to see them at Sound On Sound which was a record store north of downtown. SoS might sound familiar to many of you as the place where Chunklet hosted our SXSW 2-stage parking lot soiree a few years prior with Ted Leo, Carbonas, Torche, Part Chimp and a zillion other bands. But this gig was inside SoS (which since then has sadly closed) and saw Houston’s Rusted Shut do an hour long ‘endurance test’ gig directly before. And seeing FMU’s Brian Turner, Load Records’ Ben McKosker and both Allan and Andee from Aquarius Records assured me that I wasn’t alone in being excited about seeing Mayyors once again. Click on the mp3 attached to hear the show.
And after going to The Salt Lick with Andee and Mr. Turner (which was my only proper meal in the 28 hours I was in Austin), the final Mayyors show I got to see was later that evening at a house in suburban Austin. As I pulled up, Chris Lombardi (Matador’s co-owner) was leaving because there weren’t any bands setting up. Uh, oh. As he piled into a cab with his colleagues, I joked with him that he needed to go find some fresh powder to ski down. Some jokes never die. But regardless, after the cops received complaints from neighbors during Thee Oh Sees set, the show eventually went inside and all the bands play in the home owner’s kitchen. Brilliant.
I got to stand directly next to the band amidst the kitchen sink, cabinets, groceries, pots and pans as they whirled up a hell of a racket. I remember seeing somebody crowd surfing which was without a doubt the only time I’ve ever seen that happen *IN* somebody’s kitchen.
Did I regret the $500+ it took for me to get out to Austin? NOT. ONE. BIT.
Now fast forward to this morning and I get an email from Mayyors’ ‘singer’ John Pritchard who stated that the band was about to play their final four shows ever as a band. Now, while I’d love to make it to the west coast for these gigs, I think it’s a borderline impossibility. However, to anybody out there with Delta SkyMiles, I’m open to your generosity. Or if the brilliant organizers of the SMMR BMMR in Portland want me to emcee, I’m 100% down. SERIOUSLY!
But if you live in Northern California or Portland, Oregon, you really have no reason to NOT go see them perform before they pack up. I’m sure I could rattle off a slew of bands that have come before Mayyors, but really, do you need any more endorsement than this post?
Also, if there’s anybody out there recording these shows, send ’em on and we’ll trade.
08.13.10 – Portland, OR – SMMR BMMR @ Plan B w/Woven Bones, The Lamps, Wounded Lion, Meth Teeth, GGreen, Burning Yellows, Myelin Sheaths, Therapists, Manic Attracts, Fist City, $12, 21+, 6pm
08.14.10 – Portland, OR – HOUSE PARTY @ 110 n. failing w/Jonny X & the Groadies, GGreen, Big Black Cloud, all ages, $5, 8pm
09.03.10 – Daly City, CA – @ Serra Bowl w/Ty Segall, Culture Kids, Blasted Canyons, all ages, FREE, 8pm
09.05.10 – Davis, CA @ d.a.m. House w/Thee Oh Sees, The Lamps, all ages, $5, 7pm
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Sure, bands break up every day, but the video that’s included with this post (shot at Budget Rock 7) does a remarkably accurate job of showing what a mind-blowing band we’re losing in a few weeks.
Mayyors – Live in Austin at Sound On Sound ’09