JOE IZENMAN: CAUGHT SQUIRT REUNION LAST THURSDAY AT HELL'S KITCHEN >>>

Here is something that makes me happy: a guitarist, on his knees in the middle of the floor, surrounded by the crowd, wailing his heart out.

Here is something that makes me sad: that thing I just said, when the "crowd" is approximately … 10 people.

I know Big Wheel Stunt Show were the opener. And I know the show was on a Thursday night. But I wish more people could have been around to enjoy that set. It just blistered. I think I've used up my annual quota of the phrase "balls-out rock" in my last few reviews, but Big Wheel Stunt Show lands in that category.

The Dignitaries enjoyed a bit larger and more enthusiastic crowd, although there still weren't any takers to their call of "We're the Dignitaries / We're the Dignitaries / Go ahead and dance / We're not that scary" (at least I think that's what they were saying).

While they lack the melodic construction of their member-sharing cousins Bandolier, they play like they love to play, which is always good to see. The Dignitaries have that sound that fits right into that era in the ‘80s and ‘90s in Seattle/Tacoma, which spawned bands like Girl Trouble (who, coincidentally, have a show with them on Dec. 5 at The New Frontier Lounge) and Squirt.

Squirt, of course, was the story of the night, whether you like it or not. And they are definitely a "whether you like it or not" kind of band. They are a product of the era and the scene that produced things like Mudhoney and the U-Men. Could any other scene generate sentimentality for a band best remembered for the song “Pizza, Chicken, Burger” (most of the lyrics, as seen here on the Spud Goodman Show are, in fact, "Pizza, chicken, burger."
That was the essence of the "grunge" scene. It wasn't angsty kids singing about childhood trauma or playing metal songs a little dirtier and crunchier than usual. It was people singing "Touch Me I'm Sick" and "Pizza, Chicken, Burger" while they pounded on their guitars for a while.

So that's what kind of show it was. The kind of show where the most excited (drunk) fan is drinking Corona w/lime and Jack Daniels (partly because what he actually ordered was "You know, that Mexican beer"), and where the lead singer frequently utters some variant on, "This is a great one, I wrote it."

So the music wasn't exactly what you would call "great." It was more like, well, exactly what it was: a bunch of guys, 14 years on, probably all better musicians than they used to be, not caring and playing the same old stuff because they can. Not because their reunion will draw a huge nostalgia crowd and make them feel important, but because they damn well feel like hanging out and playing music again.

I have no problem with that. It makes me want to bust out the trenchcoat and some face paint, call up the guys and reunite Blarg! (Blarg! played one show, for four songs, and were really, really bad. But awesome.) Not because the world is crying out for a Blarg! reunion so they can all sing along to “Fire With Horns And Spikes,” but because playing music is fun, sometimes even more so when it is ridiculous.

So kudos to Squirt. Way to keep it ridiculous, guys.