It's like this every weekend!

Seriously. I had the pleasure of hanging out at the Space again last Saturday after a too long absense. In these uncertain economic times It's been hard for me to make it out to local shows as much as I'd like, but we have to keep in mind that local establishments like the Space will struggle along with us.

The Space is the kind of club that Salem has needed for a long time. It's an intimate, hip little venue that puts together the best bills in town. Doug Hoffman, of the Widgets fame, knows the local music scene very well and always creates these great nights featuring up and coming garage bands, local staples and the next big thing from Portland. He even manages to attract cool bands from around the world like the Rippers from Italy or the Mint Chicks originally from New Zealand.

The Mint Chicks were the big deal out of towners playing the Space Saturday night. They play this great up-beat experimental pop music that has everyone in the room bouncing around.

The Mint Chicks:

When their set was over people were asking to buy shirts and CDs before they could even start breaking down their gear. Luckily they had some very reasonably priced 10 inch records on sale which I managed to score for my collection. It's always a good idea to buy merch from these out of towners when you get the opportunity. It's easier to get your hands on recordings from local bands thanks to Ranch Records commitment to supporting local music. And you never know when one of these cool indie acts is going to break out making you the lucky owner of a rare early vinyl recording.

Also playing Saturday was a band I hadn't heard of call Anopechi out of Gervais. It's a two piece act, drums and guitar/vocals, but they play with a track of previously recorded bass lines or other backing instrumentation. The drummer was really good and guitar hooks were fresh.

Here's a song from them:

Ghosties from Boy Gorilla Records also played a set. The Black Black Black had a show the same night over at the Ike Box, so Dave and Kyle were there to back up Devin on the drums. Tragically, on their way down from Portland, Devin had accidentally left their cymbals of the roof of his car. Predictably, they did not survive the trip which left him scrambling to borrow some brass. Devin was feeling pretty stressed out by this, but it didn't show in his set at the Space. I think being back in Salem helped to put him at ease.

A Ghosties song:

Ghosties just released a new CD available from Boy Gorilla. I think it's available at Ranch, and you can always order through boygorilla.com.

Finally, the show closed out with Massive Moth. This is Doug Hoffman's band with Kevin Rafn and Jason. Together they are an incredibly tight band. Doug is pretty much the best drummer I've ever seen, he even closed out the show with a five minute drum solo on the spur of the moment. And they definitely bring the rock down pretty hard. Jason gave me one of their demo CDs which sounds great, but it's a live experience not to be missed. They'll be back at the Space again soon, so check 'em out!

Massive Moth in moving pictures:

All in all a great time saturday. You have to check out the Space. It's run by people passionate about music who have created a really great hang out. I know times are tough, but if you can support local businesses, local bands, have a cold drink, make some friends and see a great band you didn't know existed in one night, that just sounds like sound financial planning to me.