Guided By Voices, the Classic Lineup

The craggy cough you hear in my house and the awful smell emanating from my hair are the only remnants from the Guided by Voices Concert Friday night, aside from a poster and T-shirt that Wonder Boy had to have. This was my first time seeing the band, although I did see Bob Pollard play a few years back.

Wonder Boy and his band of misfits love GBV. The self-proclaimed leader of their group of friends is self-proclaimed GBV Super Fan #1. They’re all from Dayton and over the years I have heard countless times about how good GBV is, how they used to play with GBV, how some member of GBV was spotted in the local Waffle House. Obsessed.

After the show last night I can definitively say that Wonder Boy’s friend is not Super Fan #1. I saw that guy and frankly, he looked a little mentally deranged and, as he tried to grab the feet of every person on stage, I think the band thought so too.

The boys were excited to watch me watch GBV for the first time. (The Bob Pollard show had been an abysmal experiment since I found him to be a sad, sad drunk and was barely able to last through the show.) I had the history of GBV explained to me by several folks and the significance of the Classic Lineup was made very clear. It was made even more obvious when the band took the stage.

Someone said that GBV plays anthem rock. That’s a new phrase for me but I understand it perfectly now. To each song GBV played, there were several hundred people singing along with their fists pumping in the air. Every GBV song is super short so the band was able to play something like 40 songs during the concert and I think the crowd knew the words to every song.

In my very unbiased opinion, as someone who has not been exposed to GBV for their entire life and doesn’t feel a hometown connection to them (on that point GBV, I think you insulted a lot of Daytonians at the concert when you kept saying that Cincinnati and Columbus are your hometowns), I thought GBV was great. I think Bob Pollard is an excellent songwriter and his band is great, especially the guitarist and bass player. I am not certain the Bob’s voice is that great but he is an entertainer to the nth degree. (He’s about as a much an entertainer as he is an alcoholic…)

To anyone who has not seen them play, do so. It doesn’t matter if you know their music or not. The experience is worth it.

Note: Kentucky, I know you will be one of the last states to do it, but please go smoke-free. Concerts in your state leave me feeling like an old dishrag — dirty and used up.