Drums and Tuba Rocked Out on Saturday at Sunset Tavern

Thank God Drums and Tuba seriously rock, or Saturday night could have turned into a disappointing night on Ballard Ave. Opening bands aren't generally supposed to knock your socks off, but it's nice to finish a night out with ear drums intact, or maybe we're just getting old.

Drums and Tuba finally came on around midnight and blew the roof off the place. The set started out with Tuba (aka Brian Wolf) blowing into his horn out the corners of his mouth, the way you're not supposed to really blow on a tuba if you know how to play it. He recorded the faint whistle it made, looped it back over itself, and distorted the crap out of it with various pedals. Meanwhile, drummer Tony Nozero fiddled with his own set of buttons and nobs. Neal McKeeby ripped at his guitar, pounding his fist against the curves to make even more wacked out noises.

But it wasn't all bells and whistles. These guys can really play--particularly Nozero, who rocked the drums so hard his cymbals nearly fell over at a few points. He broke his first stick halfway through the first song, tossed it, and switched out for another one without so much as a hiccup in his jackhammer beats.

Our only complaint: not enough of the pre-vocals Drums and Tuba tunes. But we don't want to be big whiners, because this band kicks ass, whether they want to sing or not.