SHELLAC, MX-80, TAR, SIX FINGER SATELLITE LOGAN SQUARE AUDITORIUM, SEPTEMBER 4
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America’s pastime was the theme of this Albini-palooza. The title was a reference to Ted Williams’s 1941 batting average. All four bands on the bill–Six Finger Satellite, Tar, MX-80, and Shellac–wore baseball uniforms. Peanuts and hot dogs were sold, and recorded snippets of baseball crowd noise were played between sets. And what quadruple-header would be complete without the national anthem? The mellow crowd was treated to nicely sung versions of both “The Star-Spangled Banner” and “O Canada” by a lady vocalist in a silk dress and pearls. The Pine Tar .406 really was just good old-fashioned fun for the whole family, right down to the friendly and low-key volunteer staff (which included the parents of Tar’s Tom Zaluckyj–his mom sold hot dogs and his dad, a Chicago cop, helped out with security).
One of the most important points about the whole affair was this: no moshing took place. Go figure–moshing now takes place at Buffalo Tom concerts, but not at Shellac shows. How strangely our culture evolves. The audience’s advanced average age (golly, probably all of 27) and its low-key, seen-it-all, urban demeanor ensured that politeness and attentiveness ruled the day. These were people who had nothing to prove to anyone by throwing their bodies around where they weren’t wanted.
Despite his reputation as a bit of a loudmouth, Albini was funny and self-deprecating between songs. He informed the audience that souvenir baseballs signed by all the bands on the bill would be sold after Shellac’s set. “We didn’t sell them before because we didn’t want to get hit by them,” he remarked dryly. At the conclusion of Shellac’s brain-pounding set, he sincerely thanked everyone for coming and asked that concertgoers be respectful of the neighborhood as they left the show.
