Sound Advice: Fiddletown, USA

Country lovin’: I brought an Australian tourist to a country show last Friday night. Sure enough, he said he had never felt more American in his life.

An amazing, rowdy crowd filled Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub to see the Brothers Comatose. But the opener, the Defibulators from Brooklyn stole the show.

I know, I know. A honky-tonk country band from hipster-heavy, country-music-hating Brooklyn? It makes no sense, but the Defibulators performed a raucous, honest-to-God, all-American set. They sang about working hard at a job you hate to pay your bar tab, even though it’s the job that makes you drink in the first place; endless credit-card debt; and an 18-wheeler with go-go dancers in the back—a.k.a. the American Dream.

Still, the Defibulators are from Brooklyn. Frontman Bug Jennings introduced songs in an obscure fashion, sandwiching together words like “hillbilly,” “metaphysical” and “discourse.” And, naturally, the crew was spotted eating brunch at hip, vegetarian Mother the next day.

By the time the Brothers Comatose arrived onstage, the packed house was already liquored up, dancing and screaming. The five San Francisco musicians—only two are brothers—all play bluegrass string instruments, but with rock-song structures. That means epic mandolin and fiddle solos.

They also, on more than one occasion, all got on their knees and slowly leaned backward while still plucking along—nearly disappearing from view and sending the crowd into a frenzy. I was especially impressed with the upright bassist’s balancing act—plus, under a bright spotlight, he played a jaw harp.

A fan in a neon-orange Giants jersey wandered across the stage, grinning at everyone and stoked as hell. The band passed out chopsticks to the audience for a collective rhythm section. The encore chants caused some to plug their ears and wince. And that encore ended up being a cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So,” proving that you can really never predict anything.

Nevada County stars: The words “Dot Hacker” may not mean too much to you. But these definitely should: Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gnarls Barkley, P.J. Harvey, Broken Bells and Hella.

Well, the members of Dot Hacker have played with all of those bands at some point. Frontman Josh Klinghoffer is the current guitarist in the Red Hot Chili Peppers and was even inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dot Hacker’s members are sort of like freelancers in the music biz—they’re constantly involved in other projects or on tour with other bands. But Dot Hacker is their own thing.

As bassist Jonathan Hischke said: “I’m in 30 bands, but also in no other bands at all.”

Dot Hacker plays The Center for the Arts (314 W. Main Street in Grass Valley) on Tuesday, July 8, at 8 p.m. for $12. The show is a sort of homecoming for Klinghoffer, who grew up in Nevada County. And Hischke actually met Klinghoffer while living in Nevada City and playing in Hella, Sacramento’s seminal math-rock band. That one year in Hella was huge for Hischke— it signaled a permanent move to California from Chicago.

“It was like an end of an era. I was so charmed by California,” he said. Sacramento won him over, too—“Best trees in America”—and he hopes Dot Hacker will play a gig in town this fall. He certainly gets regular reminders of Sacto in Los Angeles—he said he’s constantly running into other former local bands, like Two Sheds and Tera Melos.

Dot Hacker released part one of its second album, How’s Your Process?, on Tuesday. The second group of six songs will arrive in October. Hischke said the band desperately wanted the record to fit on vinyl—and didn’t want to cut any tracks—so the collection was split into two. The first part certainly stands on its own, featuring Dot Hacker’s complex, eclectic rock—spacey vocals, experimental rhythms and noise swirling with synth.

TBD = BFD: If you somehow haven’t seen the TBD Fest lineup yet, get online right now, because I don’t have enough space to list the madness. Justice, Blondie and Empire of the Sun headline the West Sacramento festival previously known as Launch. But the lineup is packed with excellent electronic-dance and general party music. Mark your calendars for October 3-5, and head to www.tbdfest.com.