By: Karla Ludzack
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Will Johnson - Publicity photo by Matt Pence
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Will Johnson is one of the most prolific songwriters around today, and Centro-matic is one of my favorite bands. Centro-matic has had seven full-length releases in eight years. A Centro-matic side project called South San Gabriel has another; and Johnson has two solo releases on top of that, one in 2002 and one released last month. To top that off is a tour-only CD containing older songs done in a completely different way. And if I haven’t made my point yet, there are still several seven-inches and EPs that are a little harder to find.
Now that you know why I would go to see the opening act and not stay for the perfectly decent Robbers on High Street and John Vanderslice, let me tell you more about Will Johnson. The first time I saw him was at SXSW 2003 at The Red-Eyed Fly in Austin, TX. These was one of those daytime SXSW gigs that are usually free and are put on by a record label or a publication to provide exposure for bands who might not have a regular showcase at night. Misra Records and KVRX radio put on this particular party, and Johnson and his Centro-matic bandmate Scott Danbom played the Centro-matic song Flashes and Cables which at the time was yet to be released. It was half a year before the CD Love You Just The Same came out and I got to hear the song again, but it haunted me for those six months. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who felt this way because a few later, the band released a Flashes and Cable EP with alternate versions of the song. (That EP contains a few other songs, and some Quicktime videos including Janitorial on Channel Fail which is the funniest video I've ever seen. Johnson plays a janitor and bassist Mark Hedman plays a corporate geek who steals his donut in the break room.)
At SXSW I also heard a song from Johnson’s first solo release Murder of Tides. It was called Philo Manitoba and it's about a young man who sets himself on fire. I remember that the song made my friend Susan cry. I saw Johnson’s full band a couple more times in Austin that year and a few more times this year. I was officially hooked by the time I left Austin in March.
Back to Minneapolis and Friday night. We got to the Triple Rock long before the doors opened and had dinner on the bar side. (Their food's pretty good, by the way.) Johnson showed up about 45 minutes after we did. The venue doors didn’t open until 10:15 pm when John Vanderslice's band finished tuning and soundchecking. Afterwards I got to talk to Johnson for a couple minute before the show.
Johnson opened with As Victims Would from his new CD Vultures Await. (You can preview a couple of tracks from that album at http://www.centro-matic.com/will-johnson/index.html.) He had a little trouble with his amp and unplugged everything for his next song, the incomparable Flashes and Cables. It was good to see some folks move forward towards the stage at this point. Next was the opening track from Vultures Await, Catherine Dupree, another song about someone setting herself on fire. Then came Westerlies from his first solo CD Murder of Tides which kind of morphed into another song from the same album called Re-run Pills. Johnson dedicated his next song to Robbers on High Street since it was going to be their last show.
He played Vultures Await, the third song off the new CD, a break-up song as far as I can tell.
This was followed by The Yellow Signals from Murder of Tides. Then his last song featured a couple special guests, the drummer from the Vanderslice band and the bass player from Spoon. They played another of my favorite songs, Nothing But Godzilla, a was a wonderful arrangement of a great song. It kind of reminded me of that first time I heard Flashes and Cables, so my night was pretty much complete at that point.
Centro-matic will be back later this month with The Drive-By Truckers at First Avenue, and Johnson opens for American Music Club at The Triple Rock in November. I hope to see you there.
Location Info:
Triple Rock Social Club
Artist Info: Will Johnson
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