Brotherhood of the Electric- The Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, Aug. 31, 2000

by Jen Grover


August 31 I and a group of very good friends were privileged to see Brotherhood of the Electric perform at the Crocodile Café in Seattle, and it was an enjoyable night, to say the least. The band is an offshoot/permutation of The Wellwater Conspiracy, bereft of Matt Cameron, who was on the road drumming for Pearl Jam at the time. Dan Peters was brought in to take his place, and newest conspirator Jack Endino took vocals for one song and played bass. Ben Shepherd fronted the band, taking the rest of the vocals.

Although he doesn’t drum with the machined precision and intricacies of Matt Cameron, Dan Peters is, nonetheless, a ferocious player who brings the drums to the fore in interesting ways.
When Jack Endino took the stage we felt like we should bow to him, but he has a very meek demeanor for someone so important. He sounded almost timid when asking for adjustments in the sound. As a bassplayer, I paid attention to his playing technique and style. He didn’t add on a lot of frills, but his playing was clean, interesting and right for the songs. His vocals on Ladder to the Moon fit the song very well.
John McBain stood calmly at the center of the flames of dancing sound he created. He is a superb guitarist and definitely the core of the band’s sound, and of Wellwater’s sound.
And then there is frontman Ben Shepherd, who sang and also played harmonica, a talent I hadn’t known he possessed until this night. No Dylanesque squeesquawking here; his playing was neat and to the point. It amazes me the level of energy and intensity that comes out of that man in his vocals. He sang, yelled, and screamed his way through a demanding and energetic set. He is impossible to ignore, especially when he’s three feet in front of you. I snapped pictures quickly, filling a roll but glad to be done with that job so I could just enjoy the show without distractions. Before performing Sleeveless he said, "Who all in the audience is sleeveless tonight? Raise your hand." Of course I had to raise mine! Not only was I sleeveless in my attire (albeit underneath my leather jacket at the time), as many of you know, my primary screen name is sleeveless. My friends got a kick out of it and got yet another chance to laugh at me. When the band left the stage, I snagged a setlist. Here’s what they played, and since many songs were covers, I have included the original artist in parentheses (thanks to Jack Endino for providing this information online).

You Stole My Love (Yardbirds)
Far Side of Your Moon (Wellwater Conspiracy)
Ladder to the Moon (Wellwater Conspiracy)
So Come On (Fleur de Lys)
Think About it (Yardbirds)
No Friend of Mine (Sparkles)
Sleeveless (Wellwater Conspiracy)
Lost Woman (Yardbirds)
Alcorockic (Ben Shepherd)
Thing in E (Savage Resurrection)
Thirsty and Miserable (Black Flag)

BOE was a good opener for Nebula, waking and rousing the crowd, not the kind of opener you wait impatiently through as they bore to distraction, which I’m afraid is rather the effect The Heads had on me. Perhaps if the sound had been better and I had been able to hear the vocals clearly my impression of them would have been improved, but as it stood I found them droning, simplistic, self indulgent, and way too loud and noisy. And it did look rather ridiculous, when the guitarist dropped to the stage floor and rolled around in front of what was, at least in our area, a rather staid crowd. I hope he did it because he was that into it and not as some sort of acted flash. Nebula totally rocked like I have not seen or heard anyone rock in a long time, but that’s another whole story. A band not to be missed. See them if you can. I talked to John McBain very briefly after the show (he was on the way to collect the dough, and I sure didn’t want to stand in the way of that!) and got him to sign my Tidepool Telegraph single, at sight of which he exclaimed, "Where in the hell did you get that?" I talked to Ben at much greater length and with pleasant familiarity. He was in a very sociable and joking mood, so it was quite enjoyable spending time with him.


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