Eyes Adrift: Three alt-rock vets play Harlow’s

Maybe I’m a tad pessimistic when it comes to all-star bands, having seen too many of my childhood icons blow their collective wad in side projects that, unfortunately, never grew beyond their beginnings. After all, who wants to see a band that functions solely around their main band’s schedule? Once more, the term “all-star” has become increasingly subjective and, much like the big league equivalents in pro sporting events, become synonymous with failure.

However, the Eyes Adrift show at Harlow’s, featuring Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic, along with guitarist Curt Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets and drummer Bud Gaugh from Sublime and Long Beach Dub Allstars, laid to rest any notions that this band is either a side project or all-star amalgam. Instead, it highlighted three musicians whose travels and subsequent tours have yielded musical and friendship bonds that are painfully apparent.

With an original set list that including such working titles as “Sleight of Hand,” “Inquiring Minds,” Untried” and “Telescope,” Eyes Adrift gave complementary nods to traditional country, rock, surf music and even blues. Kirkwood, long absent from the scene, assumed the majority of vocal duties, while Novoselic sang lead on two tracks and sang back-up vocals elsewhere. Novoselic and Kirkwood smiled adoringly throughout the evening, perhaps astonished that the group came to fruition.

It was damn near impossible to not be overwhelmed. After all, Novoselic did play bass alongside Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl on one of the most important albums of the 20th century, Nevermind. I couldn’t help remembering his last performance in Sacramento, when Nirvana played the Crest Theater with Dinosaur Jr. and local act Kai Kln in 1991. Gaugh, whose tenure in punk/reggae legend Sublime was cut short by singer Brad Nowell’s death from a drug overdose in 1996, still managed to forge Sublime’s name into practically everyone’s subconscious with such hits as “What I Got.” And while it took MTV’s Unplugged sessions, with Cobain’s plugs, to tip off the larger world to Kirkwood’s distortion-laden Meat Puppets, the Arizona band was a huge influence in indie-rock circles well before Nirvana.

Eyes Adrift restored my faith that there still is music made for the soul, music made for the moment. Its appearance, one of a handful of dates the trio played, exuded all of the qualities of a good rock ’n’ roll show.

The band ended its set without an encore and proceeded directly to mingle with the audience and sign autographs. For a moment, you could even see a special glow cross their faces.