Seeing Shellac live was something I never thought I’d get to experience. While the auspices of the night could have been a little less somber — the show was a benefit to help fund Jason Noble’s medical costs for his fight with cancer — it was nice to see people from every facet of Louisville’s scene come together to support a good cause.

The show itself, which was accompanied by raffles and a silent auction, was pretty insane. Albini, Weston and Trainer went out of their way to make the night memorable, with more than just some intense songs (although there were plenty of those, obviously). Whether it was little comedy routines (fans of SCTV and the McKenzie brothers take note) or making eight minutes worth of three people beating on drums interesting, they knew how to keep folks engaged.

I think my favorite part of the show, however, may have been when Albini was drawing winners of the individual items being raffled. One of those was a $5 gift card for Starbucks. After reading the card describing the prize, Albini deadpanned something along the lines of, “Starbucks? Fuck that shit! Nobody gets the fucking Starbucks!” and promptly threw the box of entries to the floor.

Plus I greeted him afterward with “Hi Mr. Albino, I’m a big fan!” We shook hands and talked music for a bit. My wife didn’t think it was funny when I told her, though. But Steve was a sweetheart. I love that guy.

You can keep up to date on Jason Noble’s battle with cancer at his CaringBridge page.

Photos by Chris Higdon.

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