Edgewood - Wise Old Lions -- Velvet Lounge - Nov 28 2010

Wise Old Lions - We begin with an interesting local collective featuring a female singer, keyboards/backing vocals, guitar, cello and violin. At least that is how it began when I arrived fashionably late which is usually ridiculously early for a Velvet Lounge show. Kudos for the band for starting on time. The strings are the overwhelming part of the sound. They are well played and remind me a bit of Fern Knight. The vocals are good as she shows a nice range of quiet moments and loud intensity. It's a bit too much of the dreary downer folk at times and the band does seem a bit loose with a few rough edges. But the sound is interesting and their are some strong moments throughout the set. I will stay tuned and see what this group can do as they keep playing.

Click on people's faces in the photo to tag them.

Edgewood - Unfortunately the opening band took much of the crowd of 20 plus with them leaving an audience of five for this local rock band. Much their loss as the band performed a gutsy intelligent set. They line up with drums, bass, guitar and a vocalist. The vocals sounded as if Jeff Pezzati of Naked Raygun were trying to sing like Matt Bellamy of Muse. That is a compliment. The rhythm section is rock solid and both the drummer and bassist have moments where I focus on their respective qualities. But as in most bands, the guitar is the key and this guy banged out some interesting post punk power chords. It reminded me of the 80s where catchy melodies were trying to exist with punk power. Good edgy songs here and I have another band on my list that I hope to watch again and see how they grow.

Quote of the Night: Paraphrased from Wise Old Lions guitarist... The song is dedicated to a friend who works at the Black Cat. He lost a tooth when he was working the door and someone punched him and ran off...          Hmmm, that sounds familiar and he went on to mention the obvious connections and about being careful what you read. Good advice.