With the pile of work on my plate for classes today, I had no business going to a show last night. But when the lead singer of one of your all-time favorite bands is playing a rare solo gig in a tiny venue (opening for Rebecca Gates), you make the time for it. And when Stephen Malkmus walks on stage, says he doesn't have much of a plan, and proceeds to play ALL REQUESTS, it becomes an amazing show. Just hearing Malkmus do a couple Pavement songs would have made the night, but to hear him do so many made it an evening I'll never forget. (Especially when one of them - "Box Elder" - was my request! What's funny is that Jason was further back in the room and happened to be shouting for the same song - and SM said he'd play it because he was hearing two requests for it. Strength in numbers, folks.) I was in the very front and, well, I'm still glowing from the whole experience.

I can (and will) say a bunch more, but it will come later. First I need to do all the work I ignored last night. But wow, it was worth it. (I feel bad for bailing early in Rebecca Gates's set, especially because I like the Spinanes, but I had too much to do. I might check her out next Tuesday though, when the awesome Mike Fellows (AKA Mighty Flashlight) will be a guest at the residency.)

Fluxblog has more on last night's show, and Brooklyn Vegan has pictures. From Fluxblog, here's the setlist:

Shoot The Singer / Church On White / We Dance / Box Elder / Ramp Of Death / Frontwards / Witch Mountain Bridge / Freeze The Saints / Major Leagues / Vanessa From Queens / Gold Soundz

-----

Actually, I don't know how much more there is to say, but a few notes:

- SM's performance got pretty sloppy with some flubbed guitar lines and forgotten lyrics, and his guitar cut out a couple times. But it was endearingly sloppy - what made this set so cool was the fact that it felt entirely off the cuff from start to finish, and that Malkmus seemed willing to try anything (including songs that he probably hadn't played in ages). He laughed his mistakes off and, if anything, the looseness of it all seemed to make the show even more memorable. That said, this wasn't a show that would win over a Pavement skeptic - this was for the fans.

- Highlights: "We Dance," "Box Elder" (natch), and "Major Leagues" (which never did much for me on album). The Jicks songs were also great, and definitely tighter, but I'd seen them all live recently and will probably see them live again soon.

- Fluxblog listed a bunch of requests that didn't get played: "Grave Architecture," "Shady Lane," "Old Jerry," "Jo Jo's Jacket," "Father To A Sister Of Thought," "Summer Babe," "Ell Ess Two," "Here," "Range Life," "Harness Your Hopes," "No More Kings," "Civilized Satanist," and "Candylad." I was part of the "Old Jerry" and "Grave Architecture" contigents, incidentally, but in retrospect I should've given "Black Out" or "Motion Suggests" a shot. I gave Wowee Zowee a spin today and realized both songs could work really well solo (vs. a lot of Pavement songs that really need a full band).

- Datapanik was at the show too - check out his review.