I went to the Coathangers CD release show at The Earl Saturday with a friend.  This makes three times I’ve seen the Coathangers, and the third venue.  The show did not disappoint, but previous shows at the Drunken Unicorn and Lenny’s had more lively crowds.  The girls were good, but I felt like they should have been playing a crowded, sweaty house party instead of The Earl.  I don’t mean that as a knock on the band’s ability – they seem to be having so much fun on stage, that they deserve to have a crowd showing equal levels of abandon.

I’ve got a few friends who can’t stand the Coathangers, but I’ve always liked them.  What can I say, I enjoy a lively show.  Still, they’ve definitly progressed as a band.  I’m not intimately familiar with their set list, but what I presumed were newer songs have more layers and depth to their sound if not always their lyrics.  [Update: I should note that when I say their new songs have “layers” and “depth”, I mean relative to their old songs. The basic equation has not changed, and they are still a fairly sloppy garage-band kind of group.]

I got to the Earl in time to see one of the opening bands, Chopper.  Someone listened to a lot of Motorhead, which is generally a very good thing.  Suffice to say, they are quite different from the Coathangers.  I thoroughly enjoyed them, however.  They had some dirty, dirty guitar riffs and bass guitar.  Chopper itself was worth the price of admission.