RANDOM OLD RECORDS “I SAW WHITE MYSTERY”

Posted Monday, September 19th, 2011 at 6:30 pm

The night before, a fearsome garage rock twosome from Chicago called White Mystery had laid waste to The Summit, or so I’d been told. I couldn’t make it to that show, but luckily Miss Alex White and her impressively-named brother Francis Scott Key White had decided to set up right in the middle of Spoonful to do a retake of the previous night before taking off for another show in Cleveland. They did so while decked out in the most ferocious Hello Kitty and Iron Maiden t-shirts and house pants that I’ve ever seen.

White Mystery @ Spoonful Records, 07/11/2011
Photo: Christopher Olvis
If you haven’t heard the latest White Mystery LP, Blood & Venom, then you need to quit being such an asshole and pick it up. It takes the surprisingly tough blues howl Alex White developed while fronting the Red Orchestra for a few years and pits it against the (dare I say it?!) Meg White-inspired thud of brother Francis’ drums to create an absolutely massive sound that was only hinted at on their debut LP from 2009. I’m definitely an old fogey, so I still get excited at the thought of such quaint things as “artistic development” and bands getting better in between albums, even in this quick-fix culture. Besides, I’m a sucker for call-and-response male/female vocals from Porter & Dolly to Peaches & Herb to Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes and beyond. My point is that White Mystery ripped this motherfucker up in their brief set, played all the best tracks from the new LP, turned the shit into a lazy Saturday afternoon hangover party, then slipped in “Powerglove” and “Take A Walk” from the first one way better than most folks could have when asked to do their jobs at 3 PM on a hot and hazy July afternoon. While picking through the racks, I found a cherry copy of Happy Trails by Quicksilver Messenger Service, because one can’t have enough psychedelic Bo Diddley workouts in their collection, and a sealed Happy Birthday LP because I’d gone way too long without picking that one up. If you ever find yourself in Columbus, make sure to visit Spoonful. It’s staffed by a cool dude and his buds and his super-cool dad who seriously lit up the room offering album recommendations, bottled water, cookies, and correct change to the appreciative crowd.

White Mystery @ Spoonful Records, 07/11/2011
Photo: Christopher Olvis

 

1 Comment to RANDOM OLD RECORDS “I SAW WHITE MYSTERY”

  1. by sal

    On September 19, 2011 at 6:33 pm

    hellssss to the yes! the shit rocks love the clothes

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