VIDEO: Dead Trees, Age Rings, Viva Viva at Middlesex Lounge

Dead Trees, "I Have I Want" (Live at Middlesex Lounge, 11/12/2007)


Viva Viva, "Heartbreak Sweepstakes" (Live at Middlesex Lounge, 11/12/2007)


Age Rings, "NYC" (Live at Middlesex Lounge, 11/12/2007)

We've watched those Dead Trees kids since they were but little pups playing far better Pavement knbockoffs than a bunch of 16-year-olds had any right to. So when we heard they were moving to Oregon, and throwing one last farewell bash with the best bands in town, we grabbed a couple of cameras and headed over to the Middlesex Lounge (a place where we haven't seen a live band since the Lot Six played the club's opening night . . . on a double bill with Hollertronix).

Show: pure awesomeness, with great sets from Viva Viva, Mittens, Age Rings, Tulsa, and a singer-songwriterly gal whose name we didn't catch. (Drug Rug were a late scratch.)Our video, however, suffers from a lack of candlelight. Darkness shrouds the documentation, yo. It really was that dark, which isn't a problem in the real world, but our cameras huffed and puffed to pick up shadows. We also had our audio recorder set on "Guitar Wolf," so everyone sounds more garage-punk than they perhaps are -- except for Viva Viva, who really are exactly that fucking raw. The Age Rings tune above (full disclosure: that's the Phoenix's Will Spitz on guitar) is a new one, from what they're hoping will be a full-blown double-LP.

Dead Trees played a relatively short set for a band that was about to skip town, opting to leave everyone wanting more -- the song streaming above is a new one that certainly leaves us anticipating the next record. Also, as they admitted, they were really drunk by the end of the night. Apologies in advance for the shadowy-land-of-shadows cinematography; we're already lobbying for a do-over next time the Trees come through on tour, which -- if bands like Frank Smith are any indication -- won't be too long from now.