Loitering at the Linger Longer Lounge (Say that 10 times fast)

One of my New Year’s Resolutions has been to “Consume More” and “Create More.” It’s a cyclical concept - I believe that if I consume more of the creative outputs of others, whether it’s fiction, poetry, music, or other forms of visual art, then this provides a well of inspiration which I can draw from the create more of my own artistic works. Julia Cameron discusses this in her book “The Artist’s Way.” She advises artists to go on “Artist’s Dates” once a week, as a way of “nurturing your creative consciousness, your inner artist, […] your creative child.” The artist date also fits into my other resolution to go outside more. In the past few week, I’ve gone to a few concerts for some hyper indie local bands, and I’ve really been filling my creative cup.

One place I’ve gone to this month is the Linger Longer Lounge. This month, I’ve went to 2 shows. The shows were in the main room, an area that has the feelings of a seedy basement, dark with wood floors. There’s a bar at the front, and they have food and drinks. I got some great fries there - the ketchup had curry powder in it, a nice surprise. In front of the bar are a few tables with high chairs, and an oddly placed booth. Then there is the “stage” and an area for standing. There’s not really a platform there, but there’s drumset and guitars and amps and cables that make it obvious that someone is going to perform there. There’s a shelf behind everything with weird books and talismen of some sort. It’s very cramped and cozy. When artists begin to perform you could end up right in there face, close enough to kiss them. Because of this, it gets pretty loud (Don’t forget earplugs. One time I forgot, and my ears were ringing for 24 hours straight.)

January 9th was my first show at Linger Longer Lounge this year. First up was a band called Riverview Ward. I hadn’t heard their songs before, but they were very excited and energetic. They describe themselves as post hardcore and shoegaze. I don’t know much about post hardcore, but it did have that hazy sound you would expect from shoegaze. The bassist was a pretty boy with long hair, which seems common for bassists, and is a weakness of mine. Do I want to be like him, or be with him?? (Kidding!) During their set, the guitarist broke a string. They seemed a little panicked about it, but they still sounded good throughout the rest of their performance and eventually he got a new string. I asked my bass teacher what he would do if that happened to him, and he said “you just gotta keep playing.” If that happened to me I’d probably cry, so props to them for staying cool.

The band Sunthrown was super shoegazey, with hazy vocals, dreamlike guitars, and a hypnotic, thrumming drum. Even though the band was a simple 3 piece set, the way their sounds blending made it seem like more instruments were playing. I thought it was very cool.

About halfway through the show my friend Maya came to join me. I don’t mind hanging out by myself but I also like hanging out with Maya so it was a win-win. She also forgot her earplugs, but I don’t know if she experienced the temporary tinnitus I did. We discussed our plans for the new year. Her ex called her on new years day, same as mine. We really do live them same life!

Another band came on, Bright Bright. One guy had a guitar sort of shaped like an hourglass. There sound was mostly instrumental and also in the vein of shoegaze, very spacey and vibrant, with vocals blending in with the sound of the guitars. I really enjoyed their set.

The headliner was Cheekbone. They describe themselves as “pu$$ycore” and punk metal. I’m not sure if they’re metal but they sounded pretty punk. They were loud and fast and not hazey and slow like the previous more shoegaze bands. The vocalist was clear and had this monotone drawl that was very compelling. He was apparently drunk and kept apologizing for his performance, which I thought was funny. The bassist was a nice guy. He invited everyone to talk with him after, which I did. I told him his band did a great job and he said thanks. He even gave me a hug!

January 16th I went back to Linger Longer Lounge because the lineup looked really good. This band was performing, TEST DUMMY, and I really liked their song Grave Robber. It’s slow paced and very guitar heavy, maybe like The Smashing Pumpkins. And the vocalist is a woman, which I always love. When I got to the venue the lady checking tickets said I looked beautiful, which made me happy. I remembered to bring earplugs, which also made me happy. When I walked in, TEST DUMMY was already on stage, performing their song Dying Again, which is faster paced then Grave Robber, and has more of a traditional indie sound. Their whole set was really good. The band seemed nervous or shy, but the talent was there. Another band went called Angelhood. They describe themselves as post punk. The guitar had this dreamlike echo that spread across the room. They gave out pro-immigration pamphlets afterwards. They had more assured stature compared to TEST DUMMY, so I suspect they’ve been performing together for a while.

Finally, the main act Mutual went on stage. They drew a bit more of a crowd than the previous acts. Their bassist was kind of short and guitar was almost the same size as her. I feel like they had a more jangly, upbeat sound. I liked their song Elongate, which had this cute, plucky intro and a nice blend of guitars and bass at the end.

Overall I enjoyed both shows at the Linger Longer Lounge. It feels like a safe place in this conservative leaning desert. I’ve been able to find other shows and venues happening around town by following the tags on their page. Actually, last weekend I went to another show called Sonoran Slaughter, at The Nile in Mesa. It’s was a benefit show for a man that tragically passed away a few years ago, Darren Falkenberry. It was a heavy metal festival, which is not a genre I typically listen to, but I wanted to experience the loudness and chaotic energy that these shows bring. One band that stuck out to me was High Castle, which had a woman vocalist with cool makeup who was holding a knife and would occasionally point it towards the sky and whip around her hair. Their sound was very gloomy and melodic (I’m not good at describing metal, bear with me!). I also really liked this band called Face Pulp. The bassist had this electric blue guitar and long wavy hair that halfway obscured his face, which I liked. The vocalist sounded really grumpy and angry, and the guitars and drums kind of mashed together in this cool, pumped way. There was a lot of moshing going on which I tried to avoid, although I did get bumped into once or twice. There was also a little girl at the show, maybe 8 or 9, and everyone was super nice to her, which I thought was so cute and indicative of how welcoming the metal community is.

I had to leave the show early because my friend Paula was having a birthday dinner. On the way I stopped by Hong Kong Gift Shop to grab a birthday present. The gift shop is at this place called Mekong Plaza, which I didn’t know about until that day. There is a bunch of different Asian grocery stores and restaurants in there, and it smelled really good. I wanted to get some food but I had a dinner right after, so I’ll have to go another time. The gift shop reminded me of those stores in Chicago’s Chinatown, lots of knock off Labubus and trickets. I got a gift for Paula and for my other friends whose birthday gifts have been long delayed. I also got a necklace for myself because hey, my birthday is coming up too!

Paula’s dinner was at this restaurant called Chico Malo, which is in downtown Phoenix. I hate driving downtown because there’s so many pedestrians and oddly placed one way streets, but I tolerated it for Paula. I couldn’t find the garage with the free parking so I went into one that cost me $20. The dinner was great, I got a rellano, which was stuffed with cheese and mushrooms. I met Paula’s boyfriend for the first time, and he seemed normal and well adjusted, which gave me hope, because I didn’t think that kind existed in this city.

All of this going out and consuming has had a positive effect on my energy. My screen time is down, and I even finished 2 more short stories that have been hiding in my notebook for months. All the bands I’ve seen have like, 100 listeners on Spotify, which is insane given the talent. I’ve felt more inspired to keep up with my bass. Maybe one day I’ll have my band and book a show at Linger Longer.

I’m taking the GRE soon, so I’m going to have to balance my going out time with my studying, but I’m hoping to catch another show this weekend. If you’re reading this and we’re like, friends, or like, you want to be friends, let me know, and you can come with!

Artists Mentioned

• Cheekbone — Spotify
• Riverview Ward — Soundcloud Bandcamp
• Sunthrown — Spotify
• Bright Bright — Spotify
• TEST DUMMY — Spotify
• Angelhood — Spotify
• Mutual — Spotify
• High Castle — Bandcamp
• Face Pulp — Bandcamp