Concert Review: Sunny Day Real Estate & No Knife at Clutch Cargos, Pontiac, MI (7/2/00)
This was a part of a two-day trip made up to Detroit with Keith, Jason, Cortney, Mark and Mark’s girlfriend at the time whose name I cannot remember to see back to back shows over the Fourth of July weekend. However, we found that a hotel across the border in Windsor, Ontario was cheaper and decided to stay there instead. Big mistake.
Upon crossing the border, we were detained by the Canadian border patrol. The band van, at the time the Pontiac Trans Sport, was searched while we were taken into the offices and questioned. Why were we entering Canada? Did we have any illegal drugs? I guess, considering we were in a band, we looked like the sort of people who would try to smuggle weed across the border or something. The whole ordeal lasted about a half-hour and we were released.
The show was originally schedule for St. Andrew’s in Detroit, but we found out the show had been moved out to Pontiac to Clutch Cargos. Here’s where my brain and the internet clash: I clearly remember standing in line for the Catherine Wheel show and hearing about the moving of the Sunny Day Real Estate show that was supposed to happen THE NEXT DAY. However, upon researching this, the internet keeps telling me the SDRE show happened the THE DAY BEFORE the Catherine Wheel show. So confused.
Anyway, we drove out to Pontiac to Clutch Cargos, which I remember being a fairly cool venue with a second floor and lounges, apparently an old church that had been converted to a music venue.
No Knife, who I was unfamiliar with prior to the show, opened and they were pretty damn good. Good enough that I ended up getting and really liking two of their three albums. Sunny Day Real Estate was good as well, but there was bit of an edge to their set that seemed angry. Maybe they weren’t getting label support (the label would fold soon after), or maybe they weren’t getting along personally (they never made another record together), but towards the end of the set frontman Jeremy Engik went into a rage, knocked over some mic stands and trashed a really nice hollowbody guitar. It was shocking, this wasn’t a smash your instrument sort of band or show, so it didn’t really make sense.
Upon crossing the border, we were detained by the Canadian border patrol. The band van, at the time the Pontiac Trans Sport, was searched while we were taken into the offices and questioned. Why were we entering Canada? Did we have any illegal drugs? I guess, considering we were in a band, we looked like the sort of people who would try to smuggle weed across the border or something. The whole ordeal lasted about a half-hour and we were released.
The show was originally schedule for St. Andrew’s in Detroit, but we found out the show had been moved out to Pontiac to Clutch Cargos. Here’s where my brain and the internet clash: I clearly remember standing in line for the Catherine Wheel show and hearing about the moving of the Sunny Day Real Estate show that was supposed to happen THE NEXT DAY. However, upon researching this, the internet keeps telling me the SDRE show happened the THE DAY BEFORE the Catherine Wheel show. So confused.
Anyway, we drove out to Pontiac to Clutch Cargos, which I remember being a fairly cool venue with a second floor and lounges, apparently an old church that had been converted to a music venue.
No Knife, who I was unfamiliar with prior to the show, opened and they were pretty damn good. Good enough that I ended up getting and really liking two of their three albums. Sunny Day Real Estate was good as well, but there was bit of an edge to their set that seemed angry. Maybe they weren’t getting label support (the label would fold soon after), or maybe they weren’t getting along personally (they never made another record together), but towards the end of the set frontman Jeremy Engik went into a rage, knocked over some mic stands and trashed a really nice hollowbody guitar. It was shocking, this wasn’t a smash your instrument sort of band or show, so it didn’t really make sense.