Mudhoney, No Age wow audience despite glitches

Hard to imagine a more quintessential Seattle evening: Sub Pop war horse Mudhoney and upstart labelmate No Age set to play the KEXP parking lot in South Lake Union; stage backdrop of one crane, two cranes, Space Needle; shiny new condos rising up to the left, Willamette Dental sign flashing a digital readout to the right (64º, 17c, 8:06).

The scent of out-of-town corporate dollars wafted through the cool evening air. On paper, Wednesday night's free "Free Yr Radio" concert seemed almost altruistic, sponsored by Urban Outfitters and Toyota Yaris, which donated a vehicle reportedly worth $20,000 to KEXP.

Once inside the gates, the crowd was confronted by a sponsor booth handing out free corn-syrupy beverages, a low-hanging camera dolly swooping over the scene and a sound system loud enough to batter even the most seasoned rock veterans.

The crowd was divided into Sub Pop old and Sub Pop new.

Fifty-one-year-old Granite Falls resident Clay Mendenhall, wearing a KCMU ball cap, stood toward the back and waited for his moment. ("Mudhoney? Free? OK!" he said). Tweens, teens and 20-somethings began a slow but deliberate bounce at the front of the small, canopied stage as Los Angeles noise-punk duo No Age opened the show.

At the core of No Age is a happy-go-lucky pop band that just wants to dance. From there, singer/drummer Dean Allen Spunt and guitarist Randy Randall confound easy accessibility with violent squalls of guitar feedback and reverbered percussion.

Hooks were buried beneath torrential electronic noise, shouty vocals were lost in the mix and Spunt's intentionally over-miked drums were the music's primary sonic-road map.

Songs rarely breached the two-and-a-half-minute mark. Late in the set, melody emerged in numbers like "Boy Void" and "Sleeper Hold," and a minimosh pit opened, unchecked by security.

"I have a request," Spunt said between songs. "The kids, come closer. Come closer to the Freedom Show." A gaggle of 11- and 12-year-olds, in town from Friday Harbor to see No Age for the first time, pogoed undaunted in front of the screaming speaker rig.

After a short break Mudhoney went on and literally destroyed the stage. The band barely had enough time to belt out a few old favorites before completely blowing out the sound.

Sans amplification, guitarist Steve Turner and bassist Guy Maddison settled into a rambling-blues jam while engineers scrambled on repairs.

Making the most of an awkward silence, Mark Arm went into "When Tomorrow Hits" a cappella, though the crowd could barely hear him. "It'll hit you hard, that's no doubt" he sang. It did: The sound returned suddenly and allowed the band to finish the song with a ferocious climax.

Arm dedicated the final song to No Age; it was a two-minute noise-punk explosion that had just started when it came crashing to an end.

Jonathan Zwickel: zwickelicious@gmail.com