Bear in Heaven - Young Magic - Weeknight -- Rock'n'Roll Hotel - Aug 22 2014

Weeknight - Icy goth tones fill the club for the entirety of this 38 minute set. They had guitar and keyboards and constant male/female harmonies at work with their electronics in the background. The harmonies were a strong reminder of the Raveonettes and were the best part of it all. One cut reminded me quite a bit of a Dementia Precox song of my youth and this type of sound has certainly been around for quite some time. When they added some western twang to the urban feeling, I enjoyed the contrast. Otherwise it was a bit too steady and unchanging for me, taken as a whole. Still, there was some pleasant noise being shaped into songs going on here.

Young Magic - Even dreamier goth tones with dashes of psychedelia are present in this set. Live drums was a plus as the two in front worked a mix of keys, electronics, and some guitar. The vocals are female and take charge atop the electro pop moves and darker moments. Again, quite steady and decent enough, although the throbbing bass undercurrent was more annoying than pleasant for me. The band kept the spirit alive tonight, although with this style, it is rather subdued.

Bear in Heaven - This trio has more of a traditional approach with bass, guitar, and drums, although there are some electronics worked in from what I hear. Right away, the nimble bass work drives home a lovely song which is incredibly catchy, but flowing with depths of emotion that is quite moving. The second cut immediately shows more variation than I have heard all night as they go a more drifting psychedelic direction as if they were the grandchildren of Pink Floyd. They had a profound sense of slowly building intensities to exciting crescendos. This is a mature sound and the band has a great approach both to writing their songs and developing arrangements to make them something memorable. This is a class act and I hope they do well.

Quote of the Night - From the opening band plus a comment from the soundman working next to where I was...

Band: "Thank you all so much for coming out early tonight."
Sound: "Actually, it's late."

I chuckled as this was the third night in a row of the shows I've attended where bands have arrived late and either gotten no soundcheck or rushed soundchecks with the doors being delayed. There were some glitches at some of the shows, but the sound experts and the bands all worked together to correct things. Still, the bands can do a little better to make for a better show by managing their travel time better. It's tough, but hopefully this won't be a trend.