If one considers the notion of Superchunk, for all intents and purposes, their star should have fizzled out into irrelevancy around 1994 or 1995. Somehow that is not the case. Other bands, who came of age at roughly the same time, are long gone, or don't mean a thing anymore. Pavement is on an "extended hiatus," Guided By Voices is putting out shoddy arena rock (not to mention what Bob Pollard is doing), and Jawbox called it quits three years ago. Superchunk has gotten slack for becoming more pop and reinventing themselves, but personally it is the best thing they could have done. Who wants to listen to a band that puts out the same album over and over?

I arrived two songs into the Apples' set. They were fun and I really enjoyed the new songs in this context then on the album. I haven't been impressed with any of their releases since "Fun Trick Noisemaker," but then, that is just me. Their set was fun, and they spent a lot of time joking with the crowd. A total must see live, and a good primer for the 'Chunk.

Superchunk did this date and a date in Hoboken the next night before doing some overseas shows. Lucky fans chose the set lists for these shows. Some guy named Jared had his list used for this show, but he was nowhere to be found. The show opened up with a fresh-as-ever "For Tension" before they hurtled straight into "Hello Hawk." There was constant activity on the stage, whether it was Mac clawing at his guitar or Laura and Jim bounding about endlessly. Their energy never ceases to amaze me, or the way they handled the plethora of covers. From their standard Sebadoh ode, "Brand New Love" to a rendition of the Pavement classic "Gold Soundz" and the show ending "Born to Run" from Springsteen, they are able to bounce from influence to influence and add their own punch to it, while taking something from those songs back to their songwriting. Their relevance comes from their study of other people's work in the form of the cover. They can see how other people tick and grow from that.

I was hoping to hear some more new stuff, but the songs that were played were as great as any other selections that they could have made. "Driveway to Driveway," "Detroit has a Skyline," "Watery Hands," and "Sexy Ankles" were the highlights of the night. One of the most unique shows I've ever been to.