NEO

Once upon a time, there was this band called Eureka Farm.

And then (in the way of bands) there was no more Eureka Farm. But one half of Eureka Farm formed another band, named, simply: Neo.

I loved Eureka Farm. I used to see them live, “back in the day” (as they say) in Bellingham, WA. I watched them play in Seattle too.

I hate to write about music. I hate to describe music in writing. So all I can say is: Eureka Farm was not like any band I have ever heard live. They left behind two records, and they are not like any other records I’ve ever heard.

The same can be said for another band, Neo, which left behind only one record, Space Country, which I think describes their sound better than anything I can write. Still. I want to talk about the experience of seeing Neo play live.

The first time I saw Neo, they were playing at The Rendezvous, in Belltown. I had just moved to Seattle. I knew Jason McGerr from Eureka Farm was in Neo, and Charles R. Keller, from the final incarnation of Eureka Farm, was also in Neo. So I was pretty excited to see Neo.

Venue capacity small, more or less fifty people; candles on the tables. It’s a tiny theater, with a tiny stage. Great sound. It doesn’t seem, at first blush, like a rock venue. But Neo blew the roof off the tiny place, and because of them, I have loved the venue ever since. I went on to see Neo play at other Seattle rock clubs: The (old) Crocodile, The (now defunct) Sit N’ Spin, The (now gone) I-Spy. I was lucky enough to share a bill with them once or twice. But I’ll always, well, cherish that first time I saw them play at The Rendezvous.

These days Jason McGerr plays drums for Death Cab For Cutie. So I dunno how many people know that McGerr can play, like, ANYTHING. You need a drummer for your jazz band? McGerr can do that. You need a drummer for your prog rock band that plays in asymmetrical time signatures? McGerr can do THAT. Neo sort of incorporated all the styles of which Jason McGerr is capable, without slapping you in the face with it. Neo had grooves. Neo had Dan Infecto on bass. Neo had two songwriters, who were also the two guitarists: Chuck (Charles R.) Keller, and Sanjay Sharma.

Okay. I’ll talk about their sound: pop-songs-meditation-rock-groovy-great-shit. There you go. Talk talk.

But whatever, you’d have to hear the record.

But whatever. You really should have seen them live.

What I wish I could describe, perfectly, is seeing Neo LIVE. Definitely one of the best experiences I’ve ever had seeing a local band live. I’m listening to their record right now as I write this, remembering how much I love Space Country, and how much it was 100% EVEN BETTER live. The ENERGY. Holy fuck. Everyone in Neo was/is the kind of player who could hang back, you know, hang loose, play chill, and then totally explode, I mean EXPLODE!!!!! and they did, and you would be standing there, your arms folded over your chest (Seattle post-grunge showgoing style) waiting for the explosion, and then it would hit you, and it was (this is such an overused metaphor to describe music), but it was: totally orgasmic. And you would be like: What do I do with my arms? My folded arms! I want to move them, but I’m in Seattle (post-grunge), and I don’t want to look like an idiot? What does one do? With one’s arms? And so you would sort of hug yourself instead. And maybe bounce on the balls of your feet a little. (But inside, you were exploding, too.)

I mean I still remember the Neo live show like it just happened last weekend. It was that good.

The song I always waited for in the live set was “Subterfuge.” I still don’t know exactly what time signature it’s in. (It doesn’t really matter what time signature it’s in, unless you want to try to cover it, and you feel the urge to practice the cover with a metronome.) I’m listening to “Subterfuge” right now. IT’S SO GOOD. It starts with ABAB song structure. Then the C. Ah, the C. Okay here’s where whatever the hell time signature the first half of the song is in gives way to something sort of 6/8-ish. It morphs. It rumbles. It expands. And then it takes OFF! Like a fucking rocket! Shit. If I could go back and live in that moment, that LIVE moment, where you get to hear the band take off, like a fucking rocket – if I could live in that moment for all eternity: I would be an eternally happy woman.

Neo – Subterfuge

And see now I realize the way I’ve always felt is kinda true: even if you’re not criticizing it, even if you’re loving it, writing about music is just – inadequate. You gotta experience the music, live. You can try to write the live experience down, but you can’t write the live experience.

Still. I’m glad I was fortunate enough to see and hear and know Neo while they were out and playing. Wish I could see ‘em again. And if wishes were horses . . . there’d be a lot of fuckin’ horses.