Show reviews: Heavy Blanket (w/ J Mascis) and Obliterations, The Mattson 2 w/ Money Mark at The Satellite

The Satellite has become a backup to The Echo in recent years, so I was stoked to see two rad bills there in the same week. Gotta love being able to walk to shows, especially when it’s a friend’s band. How could I miss seeing Money Mark jam with The Mattson 2 (above)? But first things first. I capped off my Father’s Day by checking out J Mascis’ latest project.

I was pretty bummed about missing O’s new band Octa#grape on the bottom of the bill, but 8:00 was just too early for me to get to a show on Father’s Day. Not easy to skip out on that particular family dinner. I got there in time to catch most of Obliterations, though. They reminded me of the stonier, more heshing SST bands like Saccharine Trust or Gone but with more current vocals. Heavy and rockin’ to the max.

Heavy Blanket is an instrumental trio led by Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis. Their set featured four 15-minute jams that ranged from Thin Lizzy smoke-outs to some Earthless-esque space trucking, and I swear J’s eyes were closed during 99 percent of the show–kinda like a rock ‘n’ roll version of Master Po in Kung Fu. Damn. How rad to see a guitar god working itright down the street for 10 measily bucks.

On Thursday night, The Mattson 2 played a set with Money Mark. They’ve both played with Ray Barbee, Tommy Guerrero, and other Thomas Campbell-related musical projects before, but this is the first time I’ve seen them play a full set as a trio.

The prog-flavored jams mixed The Mattson 2′s surfy jazz with Money Mark’s experimental noise/funk. It was cool to watch their titanic collective musical brains bubble and riff off of each other in a live setting. Although they sessioned in preparation, there was plenty of fresh juice marinating onstage.

I got to catch up with Jared and Mark for a little bit after their set… It’s my impression that Jared and Jonathan Mattson are down to play anywhere, any time, and with anyone who rips (especially for a cause) so catch them whenever you can (like with Ray Barbee on the east coast starting this week) but Mark has dialed back his appearances so you’ve got to keep an eye out for his next gig.

Coming up: The Three O’Clock at Fingerprints, Channel 3 at Alex’s Bar…