Blue Pinto - Round About - Bellicose -- Velvet Lounge - Jan 10 2014

Bellicose - A local twin guitar quartet takes the stage, at the expected start time no less. They instantly show a maturity beyond what I expected as the rhythm section is locked in and the twin guitars have interesting patterns, even as they heavily rock it out. The lead vocals are different as they have a quivering Feargal Sharkey quality to them, which is a welcome change from the more dominant vocal styles. They maintain a sprightly pace and sound and the guitars constantly push the barriers. The bass runs are also playful as the sound musical rhombus stretches wildly at the side from the string instruments with the top vocals holding the melody and the bottom drums maintaining the beat. They get even a bit heavier at the end, employ some double leads, and have a couple of songs that would stand out in any set. Keep this band on your radar, they will be doing good things as they get the gigs.

Round About - Aside from the changes at lead guitar, this local band continues to offer a rock solid brand of rock music that always plays well in the clubs. The new lead guitarist fits in well, and I like his liquid style which reminds me a bit of Buck Dharma. They have a guest keyboardist from the Walkaways (among others) which makes for a fun addition to the sound. There was a cost however, as the acoustic rhythm guitar and bass got a little muddied in the mix. The vocals were strong and stayed on top of it all, so the overall effect was good. This was another solid effort from the band on a good night at the Velvet Lounge with a sizable crowd (a little self absorbed at times, but there was some very enthusiastic music fans present).

Sorry Blue Pinto, but I was a bit under the weather, so I will have to catch you some time down the road.

Quote of the Night: A classic for once... Heraclitus... "There is nothing permanent except change."