Slim Cessna's Auto Club
The Mint - June 26, 2010
Slim Cessna's Auto Club is salvation from the mundane music of the world - and being saved never felt so damned good. With a sound and performance reminiscent to that of an ol’ fashioned tent revival, Slim Cessna's Auto Club is a band you'd expect from someplace deep in the cotton fields of Mississippi, not from Denver, Colorado.
Slim Cessna's Auto Club has made it over the Rockies twice in the last 3 years - first playing in August 2008 at the now defunct Safari Sam's on Sunset, where Alternative Tentacles co-founder/artist Jello Biafra made a guest appearance on stage to sing in harmonious sarcasm "This Land Is Your Land Redux." The list of musicians that Slim Cessna's Auto Club has shared the stage with is impressive, eclectic and includes Johnny Cash, 16 Horsepower, Throwing Muses, Violent Femmes, Cake, Primus, Chris Ledoux, Cracker, Joe Diffie, Old 97s, Supersuckers, Reverend Horton Heat, Legendary Shack Shakers, Dresden Dolls, and Morphine. A successful appearance at 2010 SXSW, where Spin named Slim Cessna's Auto Club "the best band to see live," will help this list continue to grow during the coming months and years.
This was my first time at The Mint, and while many friends warned me before hand, "it's small," I was still unprepared for how small it really is. Up close and personal with the band is great, but when the band is sitting on your lap--it gets a little uncomfortable. Slim Cessna's Auto Club can say they have now played on what may be the world's smallest stage, complete with the lowest ceilings seen outside of a root cellar, in what has to be one of the SMALLEST live music venues in the U.S. The Auto Club is not a small band. Consisting of a keyboard/pedal steel, upright bass, full drum kit, and a guitar player who has a preference for a double guitar - let's just say things can get a little crowded on a normal sized stage, much less The Mint's miniature stage. Now add to that the 6'4"(?) Slim Cessna plus co-frontman Munly - the space seemingly become even smaller. Slim and Munly spent a good amount of time trying not to run into each other, trying not to hit their heads/hands on the ceiling and/or knocking over/into the rest of the Auto Club. The physical size of The Mint plus the physical size of the band coupled with the interactions between Slim and Munly caused for a show with slightly less energy than normal, but one that was still worth it.
Slim Cessna's Auto Club is not the type of music meant to be heard as much as it is to been seen and experienced first-hand. In comparison to a larger venue (like Safari Sam's), The Mint was not the best venue to see this show. Frank Black of Pixies fame had just wrapped playing an early show at The Mint right before Slim Cessna's Auto Club took the stage at 11:30pm. The Mint does host well-known, large national acts, and has a reputation of being one of the premiere music clubs in L.A. But for full bands it may be too small of a location. I am interested to see how they handle Rebirth Brass Band, who are scheduled to play there later this summer. Regardless, though, Slim Cessna's Auto Club was still a welcome evening of salvation from the dreary, redundant packaged music and uninspired live performances that are all too common place in the over saturated Los Angeles music scene.
Musically, there are very few bands as talented as this. The music is like a country-punk rock marching band that only plays salvation hymns. At the front are Munly and Slim, singing on tandem as if good and evil personified are bantering for control of the microphone. The lyrics tell the stories of people and places, purely Americana/Folk until you realize the stories are more David Lynch than Upton Sinclair. Upon seeing Slim Cessna's Auto Club for the first time a friend asked me, "Why did you bring me to a church salvation revival? I'm Jewish." It isn't uncommon for the crowd to throw their arms in the air and "Praise God for his glory, glory." Or rise up in unison shouting "Long on temptation/Short on salvation (or was that the other way around?)"
With a variety of instruments (some homemade), The Auto Club occupies a musical plateau with bands who, like Wilco and The Grateful Dead, are exemplary at creating music as opposed to just playing notes. Munly does triple duty on vocals/harpsichord (remember those from grade school?!)/hardcore banjo. (Yeah, "hardcore banjo." If you punk rock snobs think you there isn't such a thing … pick up a banjo and try...then give Munly a call and he’ll show you how it's done.)
It is impossible to ignore front man, Slim Cessna, who has one of those distinctive recognizable voices usually reserved for the baritone country singer a la Johnny Cash. Slim has that tinge of purity and soulful honesty without any of the sorrow. Also impossible to overlook is Munly, who shares vocals with Slim on a majority of songs. On stage Munly, with his dark set eyes and deeper sunken cheek bones can, on occasion, frighten small children or the weak hearted. Vocally he is deep, dark and contrasting to Slim's twang. Munly is the devil to Slim's salvation. This is all part of being saved by Slim Cessna's Auto Club. You don't always know what you've walked in to but there is something a bit religious (or maybe anti-religious).
The band’s label Alternative Tentacles has made it possible to purchase for download the five albums Slim Cessna's Auto Club has released on AT since 2000. For more information and the latest downloads, visit www.alternativetentacles.com or www.slimcessnasautoclub.com. This leaves you with no excuse not to give Slim Cessna's Auto Club a listen. Eventually (hopefully, soon) they will again make that trek over the Rockies--revival tent in tow and you will be glad you know a few songs when you find yourself, hands waving high, praisin’ and jumpin’ up and down in Revival Tent de’ Slim Cessna. This is music that is meant to be experienced! Live music doesn't get any better than Slim Cessna’s Auto Club.
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