Grand Champeen, Hole in the Wall, September 13

Grand Champeen

Hole in the Wall, September 13

Humpday at Holefest 2000, and as Telray frontman Alan Durham held up a napkin emblazoned with "Neil Young," his announcement for a Dumptruck reunion was met by Seth Tiven's ascending the front stage for an ear-bleeding "Powderfinger." From the looks of a roomful of local musicians at this midweek entry to the annual tribute to the Sunday Night Free For All, things were going bleary. At 1:20am, on day four of an eight-days-a-week party wherein the bar-band segment of Austin celebrates the spirit of Paul Minor's DIY dreams, the fiesta was clearly taking its toll. A couple of barstool veterans and Hole in the Wall vampires wouldn't be greeting the sun Thursday. Then again, by the clock above Jeff "Lestat" Smith's scraggly head, 40 minutes was still a lifetime away, and since rock & roll is redemptive in nature, Grand Champeen had no problem reviving a slumping crowd. Four young local transplants with the bright gleam of two guitars, bass, and drums in their eyes, the band hurried onstage as singer Channing Lewis cast an anxious look at the time. Wasting none of it, the band led off with what Cheap Trick termed Heaven Tonight, drummer Ned Stewart pounding out the blearies like Rey Washam fueling the Prescott Curlywolf. The stomping "$2 in Silver" found Stewart's kick drum headed home before barkeep Smith put a halt to that, then grabbed the microphone for some rabble-rousing. Dumptruck's Jacob Schulze, meanwhile, had put away his lighter and was replacing a string on Michael Crow's Les Paul. It wouldn't be the last busted string of the short, spirited set. "You even tuned it, Jacob," cried Crow happily, receiving his repaired guitar. "That's amazing." Less so was a somewhat somnambulant cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You," but considering the group also covers Exile on Main Street opener "Rocks Off," you have to love a bar band that enjoys playing Mick & Keef as much as listening to them. As the song sputtered to a halt, singer Lewis smiled charismatically at the mike. "That's the closest we'll ever come to jamming out, yeah." It wasn't, of course, not after Durham adjusted the mike so Lewis could do his Lemmy Kilminster impression on Motörhead's piledriving "Ace of Spades." On the last note, the house lights came up to door queen Dottie Farrell imploring stragglers to finish their drinks and go home. Grand Champeen, looking a little disappointed it was over, quietly unplugged their equipment and let another rock & roll free-for-all expire.