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Last call for Nightclub Dwight
A fan's notes on the Lifter Puller break-up

By Henry Hormann

The sudden break up of Lifter Puller in late July hit the band's fans like a police raid at one of the all-night parties frontman Craig Finn sang about in his punk noir story-songs. The band is already being thought of in an historical context, just as it hit its stride and appeared ready for a bigger audience.

Finn's use of recurring characters, locations, and entanglements kept the intrigue level high, while the other band members (Steve Barone, guitar/keyboard; Tad Kubler, bass; Dan Monick, drums) backed it up with intense, hard-charging performances. The albums portrayed a seamy underworld with characters like Nightclub Dwight, the Eye Patch Guy, Jenny, Juanita, and Katrina, whose lives revolve around swank, Less Than Zero-styled parties and a fictional club called the Nice Nice. In terms of imaginative reach, Finn's lyrics are influenced equally by hip-hop, punk rock, and Springsteen.

The band's finest hour came last summer at the Loring Block Party when Roman candles, bottle rockets, and fireworks were taped to the amps and ignited, causing a small fire. By the end of the show, there were several explosions, a couple of burning amps, one guitar and one piniata smashed to bits (sure, the guitar move is pure rock star cliche, but it was very sincere at the time). There is hardly a better metaphor for what Lifter Puller embodied. They will be missed.


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