Royal Baths - This four-piece instantly reminds me of some sort of Dead Meadow-Gun Club hybrid. That is a great place to be, but they are nowhere near the rarified air of those two bands. The songs just are not there, but the spirit and sound are quite good. They use a primitive beat with lots of slide guitar and interesting tones using space more than thickness. Some songs were good and I liked one later in the set where the guitars were trying to choke the life out of each other. They closed with a really nice groove established and showed a lot of promise. This Brooklyn group sounds like they are capable of producing some really nice music. As I often state, regular gigging and focus on the writing could yield some mighty powerful dividends.
Crocodiles - This is my second time seeing this west coast band as they did a great job on a great bill at a
previous show at the Red Palace. That whole show blew me away, but these guys who were also on the middle of the bill came off best. They are a five-piece with keyboards and a vocalist who plays a second guitar at times. The sound is balanced between psychedelic, shoegaze, Britpop, and good old straight ahead rock. This is a powerful band that will not be playing in the middle of the bill too much longer, unless the Foo Fighters are on top. They have great songs and an absorbing sound plus the requisite confidence to really take command of the stage and deliver. The only thing that did not work was their dark stage and projections which did not look like anything with the set-up. It allowed a massive amount of shadow puppetry that went on and on and on with several people in front of the soundboard. You know, shadow puppetry like sex or saying your social security number allowed, is just something that should not be done in public.
Dum Dum Girls - Also from the west coast, these Sub Pop recording artists line up with a couple guitars, bass and drums. There is a bit of shoegaze swirl, but it is more of a backdrop. Instead, it's an interesting mix of pop music with grungy medium tempo riffing and dreamy vocals. It almost is too laid back at times, but the songs are quite engaging. It is interesting that the band has succeeded as well as they have with such a simple steady approach, but there may just be enough in the songs to justify it. It was a little hard to detect in the live setting following the Crocodiles, to my ears. But this band is worth a listen and they drew a really good crowd. While I was not dazzled tonight, I think if I gave them enough listens, I would become a bigger fan. At their best, they reminded me of a female Ride and like a lot of people, I really miss Ride.
Quote of the Night: From an exchange I had with my concierge at my condo where I am reminded I need to enunciate...
"The trash chute is blocked up."
"That's because of Homecoming at Howard University."
"No, the trash chute."
"Ohhhhh...
2 comments:
I've seen the DDGs 3 times now, and they get better each time. The formula does not vary much, so I guess that means I like the formula. If only they would smile now and then...
The evening featured something you have mentioned before, an unstaffed merch table. I checked it out before the show and after the first band, and if you wanted anything, you would have had to steal it. To add insult to injury, after the show when the table was staffed, they had 0 (zero) copies of the new DDGs CD. Get it together, ladies!
Yeah, that's weird for such an established band with such a large crowd. That is something you cannot take lightly these days. I will keep my ears open. I did sense that although I was not being overwhelmed tonight, I should listen to this band more as I think I could really get into their sound.
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