Sometimes it’s like 12:30 a.m. on a Friday and you spent Thursday kind of depressed because of all the people threatening to sue you and you’ve just read the latest issue of Unbeatable Squirrel Girl — which lost a little bit of its oomph after the first two arcs, but remains a lively read 20 issues into Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s acclaimed run with Steve Ditko’s other beloved, animal-themed Marvel hero — and as you’re curling up to get a good night’s sleep, just as your eyelids droop and the abyss of unconsciousness envelopes the world, suddenly you snap awake and scream “FUCK EVERYTHING” because you promised to write that post about that thing for the morning.
“In The Dark (Pissin’)” by gruff and gnarly Boston trio Psychic Dog evokes this — admittedly hyper-specific — sensation more precisely than any track I’ve previously encountered, although I doubt that’s what Kein Kupillas, Dug McCormack, or Taylor Trashman had in mind during its composition.
Actually, I’m pretty sure “In The Dark (Pissin’)” addresses the conundrum faced by any urban dweller who’s ever needed to take a Number 1 late at night, far away from an easily accessible restroom, without the benefit of a dong to make it a simple process to drain the bladder behind a dumpster or between parked cars or on a luxuriously-dressed unconscious man who you should probably call an ambulance for ‘cos, dude, we grabbed his wallet and we’ve been kicking him pretty hard and you pissed right in his face and he’s still not waking up. This is not a good situation.
By contrast, a fabulous situation shall unfold at this evening’s release show for Psychic Dog’s fourth full-length Lunch Went Well — an Ocelot Records release that upon a cursory listen, devoid of any other context, scans like Alternative Tentacles released it sometime during the late ‘90s. You hardly ever hear anyone mention Nomeansno anymore, but I betcha Psychic Dog know all about Nomeansno.
The O’Brien’s Pub bill is rounded out by epically epic power duo When Particles Collide, post-riot glammers The Knock-Ups, and PowerSlut — the only band in town who respects patriotism and freedom enough to perform a song called “Leopard Print Butt Plug,” and one we featured last week for their “Burrito Baby” video.
Psychic Dog’s video for “In The Dark (Pissin’)” doesn’t have a burrito baby — remember it was eaten in the stunning conclusion of PowerSlut’s clip — but it does have it’s own appeal. Watch it below.
