I. Clem Snide

December finally rolled around and the end of the semester of my discontent was in sight. I’d found that frequent attendance of rock shows and hanging out with different people was a sufficient remedy to tear-filled phone calls home and adamant assertions of wanting to quit school. One Sunday night, I invited along two of my friends to see an Omaha band called the Good Life open for a Brooklyn based quartet called Clem Snide at the Mercury Lounge.

I had only heard of Clem Snide once before they stepped on stage. But, while I watched them set up their gear, I was already compelled by a couple of things: for one, they had a stand up bass and a cello in the lineup, for another they were all dressed in frayed, thrift store suits, and a third, their lead singer had that dorky-coolness that I admire in anyone who is capable of pulling it off without seeming to be a poser.

I had told my two friends that we would stay for a couple of Clem Snide’s songs and if the band was no good, we could leave. But, after listening to two of the band’s alt country/punk rock arrangements, I knew that I would be staying.

Clem Snide appeared capable of everything that I love about rock music. The songs were arranged in the most timeless way, drawing upon influences like Hank Williams and Buddy Holly. But, the lyrics could only come from a too smart suburban youth raised in the 1980’s.

Who else would ever write a songs with the title: “Joan Jett of Arc”?

To my ears, the songs were magical. They blended together tight musicianship with lyrics that were sometimes smart ass-y, sometimes nostalgic, and often lonely.

Everything about Clem Snide’s performance that night in December impressed me, but the song “I Love the Unknown” was what really blew me away. And time and time again, I recall the way I felt as I stood in the crowd listening to the song unfold in all its catchy, punky, countrified glory. And during the final verse, Eef Barzelay’s affected twang proclaimed: “The doctor asked him what he was afraid of, just what was he running from. He said it’s not a fear of success or closeness, just of going through life feeling numb.”

I could certainly relate.