The first annual Seattle Interactive Conference took place this week, and the tech industry folks who attended were treated to a succession of live shows the last 3 nights ending wih Mudhoney tonight playing the final afterparty.
The Showbox SoDo is a fairly large room – over 1000, I expect – but the show was restricted to badgeholders. Here’s the thing: There were maybe 150 of them who came out.
That meant, by and large, a nearly private show with Mudhoney. And you know what? They don’t hold back a drop even with a small audience in the room.
The set tore through about 20 songs. Mark Arm and Steve Turner both on guitar for a while, drums churning and bass careening around, but later Mark lost the guitar to slither around the stage.
Their sound is full on any day, but seemed really huge in this situation. Plus, a stage extension stuck out into the room, with no photo/security pit, so a lot of people were able to get right up to the stage and drink in the mayhem.
When they opened for Pearl Jam this last tour, they had a massive sound and the same attitude, but the opening status meant a shorter set and folks anticipating what came next. Tonight, it was just them and you could feel the punch squarely. It felt great.
