We Are Powerful Despite Our Injuries, Part One: Say Goodbye Good

I strongly associate The Promise Ring, Maritime front man Davey von Bohlen and drummer Dan Diddier’s monstrously influential former outfit, with my Alma Matter, Macalester College. I can recall reading two articles in the Mac Weekly the weekend that I visited the school as a prospective student. The first reported on a fire that caused damage to several Bigelow dorms while the second previewed an upcoming performance by the Promise Ring at First Avenue. The college and the emo torchbearers became further intertwined when the legendary Wyn Douglas ’03 booked The Promise Ring to headline Macalester’s inaugural Fallfest during my sophomore year. While my familiarity with the band remained limited to a shoddy burned copy of Nothing Feels Good, I found the prospect of a celebrated indie rock act performing at our tiny liberal arts school to be intensely exhilarating. While I would later enjoy two of the most memorable experiences of my life thanks to Superdrag’s performance at Springfest 2003 and the Wrens domination of a cottage basement in the aftermath of Springfest 2005, the biggest name prior to The Promise Ring in my time at Mac was the lamentable Rah Diggah. Needless to say when I spotted Davey eating corn on the cob on a bench a mere fifty feet away during the beginning of the festival, I was completely star struck.

Sadly, my warm fuzzy feelings towards The Promise Ring faded shortly after Sarah Kiener finished spewing ipecac induced vomit and the band took the stage. Von Bohlen proceeded to lead the troops through performance after performance of the plodding ballads from the band’s most recent offering, Wood/Water. While the album received substantial praise from the critics, it represented a jarring break from the sound of the group’s previous material and generated considerable dissension throughout the band’s fan base. While the majority of the crowd at Fallfest was presumably unfamiliar with the band’s catalogue, I was joined by a crowd of serious fans at the front of the stage. I was most definitely not alone in my displeasure with the set list. One friend of mine actually located a pen and paper, jotted down a superior set list, and then successfully placed it at von Bohlen’s feet. One of the highlights and lowlights of the band’s performance occurred when guitarist Jason Gnewikow suddenly produced some type of wooden flute during one particularly snooze worthy song. The sight of the bearded, overweight man locked into extreme concentration while playing notes on such a ridiculous instrument provoked fits of uncontrollable laughter from the group at the front of the stage. The lone breath of fresh air during the set was a stunning run through of Nothing Feels Good’s “Red & Blue Jeans” which to this day remains one of the best live performances of a song I have ever witnessed. Several songs later, the well compensated headliner’s set abruptly concluded at the behest of the Saint Paul Police due to the lack of an acceptable noise permit. As the visibly defeated and road weary band exited the stage, a group of students belted “Is This Thing On?”, the band’s signature track, at the top of their lungs. The Promise Ring disbanded less than a month later.

Prior to Saturday evening my exposure to Wood/Water had been limited to several isolated downloads, the tolerable single “Stop Playing Guitar”, and my aforementioned experience at Fallfest 2002. I came to the conclusion that for this entry to be properly researched I would need to listen to Wood/Water from start to finish at least one time. There is little I can write about Wood/Water that has not already been deftly stated in Brett DiCrescenzo’s review of the album for Pitchfork Media. I will only add that my perception of the songs as plodding, gratingly whimsical ballads with less than memorable melodies were largely validated and that I cannot believe I waited so incredibly long to listen to the horrifying train wreck of a song that is “Say Goodbye Good” after reading DiCrescenzo’s dead on critique.

After The Promise Ring fell apart, von Bohlen quickly formed Maritime with TPR drummer Dan Diddier and former Dismemberment Plan bassist Eric Axelson. Eager to forgive and forget Wood/Water and encouraged by Pitchfork’s review of the outstanding title track, I quickly downloaded the band’s debut, the Adios EP. While the remaining four tracks are not particularly impressive and retain some of the qualities present on Wood/Water, I maintained an open mind about the act’s forthcoming full length debut, Glass Floor. When the album was finally released I was stopped in my tracks by Pitchfork’s Sam Ubl. Pitchfork Media’s reputation for snobbery is well earned, so while I do generally value the opinions of the staff, I attempt to brush off disparaging reviews of highly anticipated albums. In this particularly instance however, Ubl so perfectly articulated the horror of the bland songwriting present on von Bohlen’s most recent outings that I found myself unable to resist the writer’s suggestion to stear clear of the album at all costs. Terrified of another devastating let down from a man who crafted three of the 90’s best rock albums, I refused to so much as download the album for the purpose of just one cursory listening. That is of course until Saturday night when my quest for semi-credible blogging got the better of me and I decided that I had no choice but to listen to Glass Floor at least one time from start to finish. While I now disagree with Ubl’s conclusion that the album is in fact “even more tepid” than Wood/Water, the songs remain sluggish and continue to lack captivating melodies. The best track on the album – the aforementioned “Adios” – was previously released and the only remaining winsome track is the opener, “The Window Is the Door”.

When a songwriter goes three years and several releases without a glint of magic, it becomes reasonable to assume there will be no turning back. One can therefore imagine my surprise upon haphazardly discovering two months ago that the very same Pitchfork Media which so accurately lambasted Davey von Bohlen’s previous two works rewarded Maritime’s newest release a stellar 7.8 rating. The reality of the situation however, was that no words - no matter how expressive - could adequately prepare me for the astounding experience of listening to the glorious masterpiece that is We, The Vehicles.

To be continued tomorrow with part two …