The Assembly w/ Slings and Arrows, Apteka, Sunday Morning Chameleon, and Planes for Spaces @ Metro

First a little full disclosure. I’m friends with two of the guys in Apteka, which was the main reason we went to the show. So there’s that. We got there early because it was free to get in before the bands started. Planes for Spaces (I thought they said their name was Places for Spaces, but this is what Metro’s website lists) are a guitar and drums outfit from Minneapolis – kind of like the Black Keys. They were pretty decent at times, but many of their songs could have used more instrumentation. They’re just not getting the kind of sound that other bands with the same setup are able to get. But they set us up for a promising night. Ubiquitous Chicago poet Thax Douglas was at the show and he read a poem for Sunday Morning Chameleon. I noticed that there were a lot more women around then one would expect at a random five-band Metro show, and they didn’t seem like the typical Metro, indie rawk crowd. As soon as the band started playing, I understood why. They resembled New Radicals, but not as good. We went back to the bar area because they were bothering us. Apteka was up next, and they did not disappoint. The band I would say they most closely resemble is probably Sunny Day Real Estate, but they were far more rawkin’. Having never heard their songs before, I was impressed. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Jesse Hozeny is an incredible drummer. And yeah, I’m friends with the guy, but he’s great. So there. I came away impressed and also pleased because there’s nothing worse than having to hang out with someone and lie to them about how much you liked their show. Slings and Arrows were up next. I honestly can’t recall what they even sounded like. I can recall distinctly thinking two things: 1) Their singer has one of the worst shirts I’ve ever seen. 2) I have to get the hell out of here because this is just awful. So that’s what we did. I wanted to see The Assembly, but it will have to wait for another time…