Stereosleep - The Resistance -- Black Cat - Aug 14 2012

The Resistance - Word to the wise, don't tell the crowd how you will be changing your name soon and then proceed to hawk your t-shirts. Although that is something I would have been taught in business school, it matters little here at the backstage of the Black Cat as there are a healthy crowd of 40 something people well under 40-something that are here to rock. And rock they do as this band displays its skill at combining older and newer rock forms into an engaging mix for a set exceeding an hour. They embody sort of a post punk approach to rock music, but not in a post-rock way. But the more analytical I get, the more I feel I lose the spirit of this band. I feel at a gutsy rock-roots level with what I hear from this quartet sort of as if Radiohead were a bar band. There are shoegaze elements, indie stylings, and although you can trace various sounds and styles, they don't clash or dominate. If you want a sharp band to rock to, try these guys out for yourself and see what stirs in your brain. I am sure they will hit even more buttons each time I see them. I just hope they decide on a name quickly and let me know about it as I want to be at the next show.

Stereosleep - Speaking of unique modern rock bands... this is also the second time around for me in seeing yet another intriguing area quartet that combines a couple of guitars with an occasional move to keyboards. The opening cut sets the tone with bright strong guitar melodies that drop down into a thick murky chorus passage. The contrasts here are fascinating. The bass playing is loose while the guitars alternate between locked in interplay and passages where there is room to breathe. The drums pound away and there is always a satisfying vibe in each song. They are a bit slippery to take hold of, but so easy to relax and rock out with. I got vibes of the bands Death, the Plastic Idols (for some reason), or perhaps a simpler Dungen tonight which were completely different than the bands I was channeling last time. And that is a good thing that hopefully will continue as they continue to add songs to their set. There is a vinegar and oil feeling to these band members' styles that could change things radically if they make changes. Hopefully these guys will keep the band going as they have a certain spark together that would be tough to recreate. The audience showed its appreciation for a great night of modern rock music.

Quote of the Night: From the openers... "This is a song called 'Coyote' by the Lonely Forest, so please don't tell us it's our best song."