Pardon me if I bask in the convenience of this for a second. My entire adult life, and before that, even, I’ve traveled for shows. To New York, mostly, but also central and southern New Jersey, to Boston, to Connecticut, Wisconsin, California, Texas, to foreign countries, etc. I’ve never rolled out of the house and had a venue down the road.

Factory Records, which through a miracle of association was hosting Stöner and Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers for an intimate, limited-to-50-tickets show — even more incredibly, one that started at 8PM — is 17 minutes from my house by car. I can’t think of anything I’ve ever been to that’s been closer than that. Certainly not a show I was as interested in as this one. Even when I saw Brant Bjork almost exactly three years ago in Jersey (review here), that was further away.

And for context and my own future reference, this show was one night after watching Germany’s Rammstein alight Metlife Stadium in a spectacle largely incomparable in scale to other concerts. Surely, hopefully, there would be less fireworks in the Factory Records lounge.

It was my first time seeing Stöner, with the aforementioned Bjork on guitar and vocals, Nick Oliveri on bass/vocals and Ryan Güt on drums, which felt a little late, even considering. They’d been through with Clutch, toured into New York, etc., but I hadn’t made it. And realistically, I might’ve missed this one too were it not comparatively on my doorstep. In any case, after Stöner‘s two studio albums, 2021’s Stoners Rule (review here), earlier 2022’s Totally… (review here), and the 2021 livestream/live record, ‘Live in the Mojave Desert’ (review here) and Live in the Mojave Desert Vol. 4 (review here), that served as their introduction to audiences, I felt pretty secure in my expectation for what was coming, not the least because I’d also checked out a stream of the Chicago show on this tour.

That stream was my first exposure to Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, who have been doing honors as the support act since this tour began in Brooklyn on Aug. 25. And even after watching that stream, somehow the potentiality for righteousness of having Mario Lalli — as legit as “desert rock legends” get, truly — on one flank of the stage and Brant Bjork — see previous aside — on the other had eluded me. But hot damn those were some jams. A quick iPad-as-keyboard intro, and off. I don’t know that it would work on a studio album, but with Sean Wheeler out front reminding the room that if you can’t hang with weirdo druggie poets you should get your ass out of the desert immediately, reading, semi-singing, gradually removing clothes, regularly crossing in front of the monitors that delineated where the crowd ended and the band began, it was a show for sure. Güt on drums like don’t even worry about it, Oliveri — who I last saw leaving blisters with Mondo Generator at Freak Valley Festival (review here) — doing some vocals but mostly just hanging out as a part of the thing, it was a jam vibe even if they clearly knew at least in part where they were headed, Lalli calling out the occasional change.

And moreover, it was suited to the room. Some hanging lights, pieces of fabric adorned the ceiling, oriental rugs on the floor — nobody fell that I saw — and records decorative on the wall to reinforce the notion of many more outside the lounge room waiting to be purchased, couches lining the walls and merch in back, the vibe fit. This show? It was BYOB. I felt like I could genuinely hang out in that room. Like, for an evening. At a show. I felt welcome and comfortable. I consider that a premium these days.

The power blew at one point during the Rubber Snake Charmers set, but it was a quick recovery and Wheeler held it down in the meantime. They played for about 40 minutes and amorphous groove, and were nothing less than a pleasure to behold. And one assumes that having all three members of Stöner on stage playing as part of the opener made the changeover that much easier as well. There was still a bit of a break, which seemed fair enough, but Oliveri introduced them quick — a formality; everyone there knew who they were — and they hit into “Rad Stays Rad” before unfurling all of Stoners Rule, not necessarily in order, but in full nonetheless. “The Older Kids,” “Own Yer Blues,” “Evel Never Dies,” “Stand Down,” “Nothin’,” and even “Tribe/Fly Girl” for a mellow comedown late in the set.

From Totally… there was “Party March,” “Strawberry Creek (Dirty Feet),” and “A Million Beers,” the last of which was made all the more driving thanks to Güt‘s work on drums, ghost notes on the snare, loose-looking swing, holding the bottom of the sticks and able to roll or punker-blast, whatever the song calls for. I’ve been lucky enough now to see Güt play a few times between Brant Bjork‘s solo band and now Stöner, and he’s one of those drummers you could watch all day. In the mellow rollout of “Tribe/Fly Girl” or in the Ramones cover “R.A.M.O.N.E.S.” — which I didn’t see coming but probably should have — it was the drums holding it all together and as locked in as one might expect Bjork and Oliveri to be for having been in bands together over the course of the last 30-plus years, Stöner wouldn’t be Stöner without Güt behind the kit anymore than they would without Oliveri‘s shouts or Bjork‘s ultra-Phil Lynott-style vocal patterning.

There was a new song — I didn’t catch the name and didn’t remember to ask Bjork after the show; it was called “No Brainer,” apparently (thanks Ian from The Heavy Co.) — or maybe two, and in addition to the Ramones, the three-piece took on two Kyuss tracks to close out, starting with “Gardenia,” Oliveri‘s bass fills there worth the price of admission for the entire night and whatever you wanted to spend on merch after, and ending with “Green Machine,” which hell fucking yes I was singing along to. See also “Rad Stays Rad,” “The Older Kids,” “A Million Beers,” and so on.

Because that’s kind of the point of Stöner as I understand it: to find that place where rock and punk are the same and to capture that moment when the songs seem to really become a part of you. They’re right in that it’s the provenance of teenagers — they’re not a full-on nostalgia trip, but their sound is stripped far enough down to be considered a return to roots — but eventually you keep going and someone’s gonna tell you to go ask the older kids. Maybe even the older kids themselves. They’re right up there on stage, swapping vocal lines in an almost conversational style, killing it as they’ve done for the last three decades.

For real, what a show. Even the dude in the Rammstein shirt — not me; mine went in the wash — seemed to be enjoying himself. My big takeaways, aside from the holy-shit-it’s-right-here nature of the night, were that Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers were awesome, that I’m glad Stöner are already moving forward with new material, and golly I hope Factory Records keeps doing shows. Even with that blink in the power, the place was very, very cool. I’ve already started thinking of bands I’d want to see play there. Could be good living. Legal weed in Jersey. Spot on the touring circuit between New York and Philadelphia.

Plus you could do like Güt and go snag some Blue Öyster Cult vinyl between sets. Intimate show, laid back crowd but clearly into it, and better sound than you’re probably thinking there was because it’s a record store. Charge more at the door, but hell, think of BYOB as the return on your investment if the concert itself isn’t. It was killer, and that spot, if they play it right, could really, really work as a destination for bands. Here’s hoping.

And I’m glad I waited to see Stöner, because this felt like a special gig in no small part because of the venue, but now that I’ve got the first one out of the way, next chance, I won’t hesitate.

Thanks for reading.

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Tags: Brant Bjork, California, Heavy Psych Sounds, Indio, Mario Lalli and the Rubber Snake Charmers, Stoner, Stöner Totally..., Totally...

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2022 at 8:45 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.