• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Archive
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / Personal / off-topics / music / concerts / Found a Catfish Haven

Found a Catfish Haven

November 17, 2006 by krisis

As much as I can be a dedicated home body, so can Elise, and after almost five years of trying to align the moons and stars of our social inclinations we’ve finally realized that sometimes it’s okay to go out alone.

My recently social outings have been split evenly between the aforementioned best friend Gina (w/boyfriend Wes), and Elise’s best friend Amanda, because it stands to reason that anyone who could tolerate hanging out with Elise 40hrs a week of work plus however many hours of rehearsal will probably be able to tolerate me for the length of a concert or two.

Last night Amanda and I were at the XPN World Café Live venue to check out a free Heartless Bastards show, but the Bastards’ limelight was completely stolen by the fantastic opener Catfish Haven.

I was a little startled when Catfish began to play, because I thought they were just roadies – three unassuming men with long hair and t-shirts who had just been tuning up their instruments. A few bars into their first song my interest was piqued. By song three I was utterly hooked.

I was drawn in by a sound I can only attempt to describe as such: Joe Cocker fronting My Morning Jacket, cranking out occassional raunchy acoustic Franz Ferdinand covers, except Catfish is tuneful and poppy, wearing a badge of Motown soul influence where the aforementioned bands can be too obscure or trite. Not to mention the absolute perfection of Van Morrison pop on “Tell Me” and “”Crazy For Leaving.”

Yeah, they’re eclectic.

Solid drumming from Ryan Farnham was focused by pogoing (sometimes punkish) bass from Miguel Castillo, both underscoring big, crunchy rock chords from singer/guitarist George Hunter.

George wielded a thinline Ibanez the entire time, yet the band’s sound was mostly massive and electric, jangly and propulsive. Animated throughout, the band exchanged self-effacing quips with the audience, making note of songs that were particular good to dance or neck to, as the case might be.

The Chicago-based trio have been fast friends since youth, and were touring behind a self-published EP in 2001 when they sent a demo to Secretly Canadian Records. A week later the label caught a show and the band was signed.

After the set, the super-cool Miguel divulged that they tried a few shows with George on electric guitar, but it never worked. When I quizzed George on how he got such a thick sound from a thinline acoustic he shrugged, “I just use heavy strings, and run it through the twin.” (either meaning this or this)

More to the point, he just plays *hard*, going for every power chord, hard bend, and tremelo with the gusto of a rock god strapped with a Les Paul.

Catfish Haven put out a new full-length – Tell Me – this September. It’s not flashy, and a little rough around the edges, but in all it’s just about as satisfying as their concert – trading in on the manic volume of their loud act for some nuanced backing vocals and horns.

They’re on a three-date run with Heartless Bastards before heading out on a brief tour with the Hold Steady. You can be their MySpace friend, see the video for “Tell Me”, or check them out on Daytrotter, a cool online music mag which featured a great writeup and a quartet of Catfish tunes earlier this year. Of the four, aim for Down By You Fire for Joe Cockerness and Medelin for danciness.

Related posts:

  1. Crushing On Crushing Krisis

Filed Under: concerts, elise, NaBloPoMo Tagged With: amanda

Previous Post: « Trio: Season Five, Suite #4!
Next Post: And Then I Tried To Eat It »

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • X-Men Vote 2023 - Polls Are Open NowElect your favorite mutant with Marvel’s annual X-Men Vote! #xmenvote
    It's time for the third annual X-Men Vote to determine one new permanent member of the flagship X-Men team. Let's meet the six candidates and discuss the pros and cons of each one. […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Secret Invasion Box KickstarterMarvel United: Multiverse adds a Secret Invasion expansion (plus, 20 events that could be expansion boxes!)
    CMON announced a surprising Marvel United Multiverse Secret Invasion expansion, which raises a question: What other events are still to come? I've got 20 suggestions for them. […]
  • New for Patrons: Guide to Wasp, Janet van Dyne
    This Guide to Wasp follows Janet van Dyne through her 60-year Marvel Comics history, from founding Avenger to finally getting own own series! […]
  • my weighted blanket is hungry
    Me getting 8hrs of fitful sleep doesn't seem to be enough to satiate the hunger of my new 10kg beast of a weighted blanket. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 5 – House of Fashion, Review & Power Ranking
    It's Drag Race Fashion Week in this unconventional materials design challenge with a twist: the queens are split into three groups and have to present cohesive runway collections. […]
  • Breaking News: D&D continues support of Open Gaming License (OGL 1.0), releases their core rules SRD under Creative Commons
    Breaking news! Dungeons & Dragons made the shocking announcement that they're keeping OGL v1.0 and releasing SRD 5.1 under Creative Commons! […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Civil War Box KickstarterMarvel United: Multiverse has a Civil War in their new expansion box (and uses it to solve their Young Avengers problem)
    All out war breaks loose in CMON's Marvel United Multiverse Civil War expansion set, adding several classic Avengers and a new PVP play mode. […]
  • The Reading Order Guide to Excalibur - image from Excalibur (1988) #1Updated: Guide to Excalibur
    My updated Reading Order Guide to Excalibur adds several new collections, including big Epic Collection news! […]
  • X-Factor Math & Maps: Collected Issue Counting and Future Omnibus Mapping
    it's time for mathing and mapping X-Factor! How much of X-Factor been collected from its start in February 1986 to the team's most-recent appearance Dec 2021? And, how could it all fit into Omnibus? […]
  • Marvel United Multiverse Age of Apocalypse - Kickstarter Exclusive BoxMarvel United: Multiverse enters the Age of Apocalypse! (plus, predicting the 10 most-likely expansion boxes)
    CMON's Marvel United: Multiverse - Age of Apocalypse brings more mutants to the game! What are the 10 next expansions we might see soon? […]
  • The Guide to Unstoppable WaspNew for Patrons: Guide to Unstoppable Wasp, Nadia van Dyne
    Who is The Unstoppable Wasp, and how did an elegant retcon from writer Mark Waid make her a different character than the MCU's Hope van Dyne? […]
  • Champions (2016) #1 variantGuide to The Champions – now available to the public!
    My Guide to The Champions is now available to everyone! Learn why Marvel abandoned this team concept after its 1977 cancellation until 2016. […]
  • Dolly told me I’m doing okay
    Do you know what happens when you run a lot, even when you hate every single second of doing it? Eventually, it gets easier. But, Dolly Parton doesn't always offer you encouragement when you shatter your personal record. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 4 – Snatch Game, Review & Power Ranking
    The double-size Season 15 Snatch Game gave us 14 celebrity impressions and a surprising amount of successes, though queens struggled with their "Beautiful Nightmare" runway prompt. […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.