1/26/07, 5:21 pm EST

Assignment Three Finalist: Sean McCarthy on The Appleseed Cast (Omaha, Nebraska)

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

THE APPLESEED CAST/ASOBI SEKSU/LITTLE BRAZIL - 1/22/07

by Sean McCarthy
Age: 33

The low end on the acoustics was strong enough to ripple shirts and more than a few plastic drink glasses Monday night at Sokol Auditorium during Asobi Seksu’s 45-minute set. The Appleseed Cast may have been the headliners, but Asobi Seksu’s mix of Ride-like guitar squalls and pulverizing percussion worked up the crowd of 200 in the way that only the best headliners can.

The smell of secondhand pot smoke and peppermint gum in the audience was a perfect match to Asobi Seksu’s playful mix of loud, straightforward rock and quirky keyboard experimentation. Yuki Chikudate’s songs: some sung in Japanese, some in English, have only gotten stronger with the release of last year’s Citrus. Chikudate modestly called “I’m Happy But You Don’t Like Me,” one of their earlier songs, “stupid.” Music standards should be so high.

When The Appleseed Cast took the stage, the audience was still recouping from Asobi Seksu’s set. Though The Appleseed Cast’s set was more subdued than their openers, the band confidently opened with a new song from their upcoming album: a gutsy move for a band whose first two albums are some of the most beloved albums in indiedom.

The majority of The Appleseed Cast’s set drew heavily on their newer material. The band joked that they would be trying to “relearn” some of their older material in the set. Sporting a beard that looked like a Chia Pet exploded in his cheeks Chris Crisci’s vocals are still a commanding presence, even on a subdued, chilly Monday. The relatively relaxed atmosphere of The Appleseed Cast’s performance may not have been the stuff to justify a raised Bic lighter treatment, Aaron Pillar’s guitar and drummer Nathan Richardson could still produce sear-ringing bliss.