We Were Promised Jetpacks - Honeyblood -- Black Cat - Mar 7 2014

Honeyblood - Coming along for the tour from the headliner's home of Glasgow, are this up and coming female duo on guitar and drums. They both sing, but the drummer does not chime in too often leaving the guitarist to bring the songs to life with her cute style cut with a tough edge when warranted. They succeed most when their grungy tough brand of power pop cuts loose with a little pace and drive. Otherwise, the songs are nice but not as easy to dig in to. Like many rock duos, they could use another component, even more than a bass (which I think I heard a few times). All in all, this was a likable set and the band does not even have their first record out. So there is potential here and they should be excited to be on such a large scale tour with receptive audiences.

We Were Promised Jetpacks - And this sold out highly receptive audience was treated to this vibrant revved up Scottish quintet. I saw them a couple of tours ago--probably their first US tour, and aside from liking their name, found them to be a rock solid rock band that was worthy of attention. But now, they are a fully formed outfit, confident of their sound, with plenty of great songs to fill out their set. They remind me a lot of their fellow countrymen, Big Country, but have an even more powerful sound. They have all the hooks though and quality vocals that are somewhere in the neighborhood of Stuart Adamson and Morrisey. This was a wonderful show and the crowd was great in a club where it is comfortable to be a part of a sold-out crowd. This band should be on your radar and by the time they return to DC, they will probably be selling out the 9:30 Club.

Photo grab of the night: following my line of famous people that look like other unlikely famous people...