Thursday, September 13, 2012

THE WITHERS/PEOPLE'S TEMPLE/BLANK TAPES

Firstly, I don't review local bands so no comment on the Withers in this forum.

People's Temple come from Lansing, Michigan which I would have seen as a good sign if they hadn't already been  commanding the stage before announcing that.  As I found out after buying both their  LP and latest single they are comprised of two sets of brothers which brings me to  my  one detraction that  they were a bit too masculine.  Nothing wrong with that, especially when you never stop or slow down.  This band had me hooked pretty much the entire time.  Looking and sounding like everything great  about the 70s  their tight energetic hard rock ran the gamut from funky kraut to glammy new wave and everywhere in between.  It would be unfair to call the lead guitarist the standout,  but his unique Les  Paul style  was something to behold especially when simultaneously evoking Dick Dale and  Phil Manzanera.  The drumming was relentless in it's power and as  Miles commented, the player reminded him of Grant Hart at his peak.  The songs made you move while frying your brain which is  really what  I look for most in a band.  Towards the end of the set there was one real stinker though that made me question if I had even liked them up to that  point despite witnessing the best  harmonica playing  of my life mere moments before.  I don't  know what happened but they recovered and solidified their status as the best  70s rock band you will live to see.

I didn't stick around for much of Blank Tapes for personal reasons, but that's okay.  They were from San  Francisco and it was really  obvious.  In fact they should be called "Four Nice Kids from San  Francisco," but then no one would see them.  The bassist wore a goofy hat  and  played  a violin bass, the girl played a snare and floor tom with mallets and the twang  in her voice wasn't sincere.  The guy playing a hollow body guitar was a better vocalist, but the  whole  thing was just too light.  Then there was a guy  with glasses and one tambourine in the back.

I haven't listened to the People's Temple records yet, but that will change soon.  Either way they are to the 70s what the Brian Jonestown Massacre was to the 60s.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Mallard with Thee Oh Sees and Sic Alps 9/9/12

Wow, it's been a real long time since I posted, but it takes a lot to motivate me away from my own band Super River which has occupied most of my time for the past year.

So I went to this show with three  of my band mates Sunday night.  We missed the  first band that played.  I heard they were good, but that came from someone whose taste I question.  We  were planning to miss the  second band as well, but thank god that didn't happen.

The curtain went up  at the  El Rey and  the four-piece was lined up in a row.  Apparently they don't do that all the time which is disappointing but immediately my eyes were locked on their drummer despite him being flanked by two beautiful women slinging guitars.  His beats and  motion were unlike anything else I've seen, innovative,  clean, yet painful.  It helped  that  everything  else  about this band was great.  They had a cohesive noisy sound with by far the best energy and  songwriting I saw all night.  While performing they were such a single unit it was impossible to tell if they even had a single leader.  I found out later it's frontwoman/guitarist/songwriter/engineer  Greer McGettrick, but what can you do?  The rest  of the band was no less talented, especially  evident after lead guitarist and bassist switched instruments and  revealed themselves to be better in the latter role.  We seemed to be the only people in the audience who got it, sadly, despite for the relatives of one member standing near us.  Well with that crowd what could you expect...

The Sic Alps were revealed and their hippie-ish lead guitarist stuck out the most.  His playing was one of the best parts, but who cares?  The singer and drummer were both  wearing  baseball caps which begged the comparison to the Beastie Boys.  It was embarrassing, especially after I heard  that the band used  to just be the two of them.  So apparently they used to not have a bass player.  More on that later...  Bottom line they lacked any  essence, I couldn't even tell what they were going for.  None of us could!  I may have thought they were okay apart from the aesthetic if I hadn't just seen the Mallard, but I was  the lucky one, not them.

Then there was Thee Oh Sees.  For years this band had never connected  with me.  I had just been waiting them to be my next Deerhunter and finally catch up and hear what I'd been missing.  Turns  out I wasn't missing a thing.  Judging by the crowd's reaction, the band's energy and enthusiasm, and the tightness of the songs I am certain this was  not just an "off night."

If  I hadn't already known that this "band"  was a product of the god-awful New England hardcore scene of yore I would have known it instantly.  It's like ska, even if you move to SF  and drop a lot of  acid that's still what you are.  Then I see there's no bass  player, just some skinhead with a guitar and an octave pedal playing repeated bass lines like a machine.  Wow.  This review should end there.   It's almost always the worst choice to not have a bass player (local newcomers Spaceships suggest otherwise), but if you're gonna cut it at least  CUT IT.  So I stood there  for hours of this hardcore kid soloing while his  backing band did a job that could be done more easily with Fruity Loops.  This band I from now on will describe  as "The Olive Garden of  Psychedelia" was actually more boring live than on their rushed, spotty records.

So basically buy the below record and forget the other two bands  exist.  If you're reading this I'm sure you don't have time for them.