Mod Fun - 6/9/07 @ The Clash Bar
It was a comedy of errors the other night getting to the Clash Bar for Mod Fun's CD Release party. First there were no street signs in Weehawken, so I got massively lost going to pick up my pal Jim Testa. When I finally got close to his place I hit a slight roadblock, in the form of a couple of police cars and an ambluance. Once I finally picked Jim up, I then had to find the Clash Bar, which is a little off the beaten path in Clifton. it didn't help that several roads near the Clash Bar were blocked because of a street fair that had been there earlier in the day.
We finally arrived at 10pm when Mod Fun was scheduled to take the stage. However, standing outside when we arrived was Bob, the bassist for Mod Fun. Obviously this show was not starting on time.
Entering the Clash Bar, I instantly felt like I was in a bar straight out of A Clockwork Orange. Different walls were painted in different colors, dark red, green, and the wall behind the stage was made of narrow vertical mirrors with a dark center panel with white circle patterns in it. Framed posters on the walls included the Clash (duh), Otis Redding, the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop (who also had a drink special named after him), Social Distortion, and the Who.
It was during the 30 minutes spent waiting for the band to start, that I realized the limitations of this venue (besides the fact that I had a hell of a time finding it). The place is rather small, and the low ceiling painted black makes it seem even less spacious (as there was plenty of room for the people that were there). Also, when they designed the layout of the club they decided to put the stage on the wall that has a support column right in front of it, so directly in front of the center of the stage is a black support column that obstructs the view of the stage no matter where you stand. I wish I could say I was able to ignore it once the band started playing, but it actually became even more noticeable. Did it sour the show? Let's just say it was a slight nuisance.
The bigger nuisance was the persistent sound problem during the first half of Mod Fun's set, where lead vocalist, Mick's mic kept crackling as he sang into it. The soundguy switched the mic and the cable, but neither fixed the problem. Halfway through the set he finally decided to move Bob's mic and Mick's mic around, and that seemed to finally fix the problem. Mick pointed out from the stage that this is what can happen when the venue doesn't want us to do a soundcheck. For a $10 cover charge it would have been nice if the club had worked out the sound problems during a soundcheck. Come to think of it, for a $10 cover charge I shouldn't have an obstructed view of the stage because of a support beam either.
So how was the set, besides those problems? Incredible! Despite it all, these veterans kept playing their brand of British garage rock that made both the young and old mods happy. Mod Fun played a lot of tracks from their new 20 track CD, "now...and again", named because the first 10 songs are brand new (now), and the last 10 are remakes of songs their songs from the 80's (again). What's great, once they fixed the vocal problems, was hearing this three piece (guitar, bass, drums) rip through a song that had Mick handling the leads, and Bob & Chris both singing backing vocals.
Mod Fun doesn't play out regularly these days, but hopefully with the new CD out there will be more shows in the near future. In the meantime, pick up "now...and again", it's a great CD.
www.ModFun.com
It was a comedy of errors the other night getting to the Clash Bar for Mod Fun's CD Release party. First there were no street signs in Weehawken, so I got massively lost going to pick up my pal Jim Testa. When I finally got close to his place I hit a slight roadblock, in the form of a couple of police cars and an ambluance. Once I finally picked Jim up, I then had to find the Clash Bar, which is a little off the beaten path in Clifton. it didn't help that several roads near the Clash Bar were blocked because of a street fair that had been there earlier in the day.
We finally arrived at 10pm when Mod Fun was scheduled to take the stage. However, standing outside when we arrived was Bob, the bassist for Mod Fun. Obviously this show was not starting on time.
Entering the Clash Bar, I instantly felt like I was in a bar straight out of A Clockwork Orange. Different walls were painted in different colors, dark red, green, and the wall behind the stage was made of narrow vertical mirrors with a dark center panel with white circle patterns in it. Framed posters on the walls included the Clash (duh), Otis Redding, the New York Dolls, Iggy Pop (who also had a drink special named after him), Social Distortion, and the Who.
It was during the 30 minutes spent waiting for the band to start, that I realized the limitations of this venue (besides the fact that I had a hell of a time finding it). The place is rather small, and the low ceiling painted black makes it seem even less spacious (as there was plenty of room for the people that were there). Also, when they designed the layout of the club they decided to put the stage on the wall that has a support column right in front of it, so directly in front of the center of the stage is a black support column that obstructs the view of the stage no matter where you stand. I wish I could say I was able to ignore it once the band started playing, but it actually became even more noticeable. Did it sour the show? Let's just say it was a slight nuisance.
The bigger nuisance was the persistent sound problem during the first half of Mod Fun's set, where lead vocalist, Mick's mic kept crackling as he sang into it. The soundguy switched the mic and the cable, but neither fixed the problem. Halfway through the set he finally decided to move Bob's mic and Mick's mic around, and that seemed to finally fix the problem. Mick pointed out from the stage that this is what can happen when the venue doesn't want us to do a soundcheck. For a $10 cover charge it would have been nice if the club had worked out the sound problems during a soundcheck. Come to think of it, for a $10 cover charge I shouldn't have an obstructed view of the stage because of a support beam either.
So how was the set, besides those problems? Incredible! Despite it all, these veterans kept playing their brand of British garage rock that made both the young and old mods happy. Mod Fun played a lot of tracks from their new 20 track CD, "now...and again", named because the first 10 songs are brand new (now), and the last 10 are remakes of songs their songs from the 80's (again). What's great, once they fixed the vocal problems, was hearing this three piece (guitar, bass, drums) rip through a song that had Mick handling the leads, and Bob & Chris both singing backing vocals.
Mod Fun doesn't play out regularly these days, but hopefully with the new CD out there will be more shows in the near future. In the meantime, pick up "now...and again", it's a great CD.
www.ModFun.com