Family Portrait - Andrew Cedermark -- DC9 - March 8 2010

Andrew Cedermark - Mr. Cedermark played guitar and sang along with a drummer and a bass/keyboardist. A good jarring song from the start with barely audible vocals. The sound seemed a bit off and the soundman had them turn down the guitar amp which balanced things better from then on. Alternating between gutsy and spoken vocals, the music steadily followed a bluesy shoegaze rock sound. I preferred the gutsier vocals. Although the songs weren't getting through to me as much as I had hoped, I still heard some decent potential here. Note, work on the stage patter a bit. For instance, you don't need to introduce the band twice. After reading the myspace page, it seems that playing out isn't or wasn't one of Mr. Cedermark's goals.

 
 
Family Portrait - Another guitarist/vocalist with a drummer and bass player and a separate keyboardist this time. Although it was easy to forget about him as he sat on the floor behind the bass player. The guitar was heavy on the reverb and high on the treble. There was some nice tempo and a really good driving rhythm section keeping things going. A mix of garage and classic pop-rock, I suppose. Likable songs and a very nice set. They will certainly be getting some good live experience while beginning a rather lengthy tour with the prerequisite stop through SxSW, like half the other bands I am seeing these days. It will be nice to see them again after this experience.

Quote of the Night: The opening band and audience after learning they have 15 minutes left...
"OK, should we play two fast ones and one slow one? Well, we'll do one fast one and two slow ones, because we only know one fast one."

"Play the fast one last!"
"Play the fast one twice!!"