Miniature Tigers - The Griswolds - Great Good Fine Okay -- U Street Music Hall - Aug 14 2014

Great Good Fine Okay - We start the night with a multiple choice question. And after listening to a full set of this Brooklyn quartet, I choose 'D' - Okay. They play an overly bright soulful pop with plenty of electronic pulsations in the beat. It's heavy with keyboards, with bass and drums banging away too, although the electric guitar made a welcome appearance later in the set. They were competent enough, but there was not enough there for me to connect with as they did not really hit any of my areas of interest. I am not sure they transcended the levels of their chosen approach either, but I think the potential is there. I do have one nagging question... can three falsetto voices harmonize? Tune into this band and let me know your answer.

The Griswolds - This band comes all the way from Sydney, Australia, which reminds me that I just heard that Radio Birdman is back doing some Australian shows. While I knew there was no way the Griswolds would connect with me the same way Birdman did, I at least found a decent band here. There still is a little too slick of a pop sound for my liking, but the hooks were supplemented by youthful energy with good guitar work mixing with keyboards which burst forward impressively. These guys are really young as the drummer just turned 21, and they seem to be working pretty hard to make a name for themselves. I think they won over some of the crowd and they had several of their own fans there a well. While I may not return for their next DC show, I suspect they may be headlining and doing just fine without me.

Miniature Tigers - And finally a band hits the stage that takes the components and momentum of the first two bands and puts it together in a satisfying combination. The keyboard and vocal pop moves are here, but there is even more heft in the sound and some real jangle in the guitar work. The pop hooks are warm and inviting and the fat bass playing stands out in a positive way. I also like the vocal harmonies as there is a bit more subtlety and variation here than previously. It is a slick sound, but with enough warmth to make a broad appeal for many music fans. And it was a good crowd tonight that took up more than half the space, although they all pushed forward to really enjoy the bands. Summer shows do bring out the youth with a healthy influx of energy to a show. Miniature Tigers was up to the task of delivering them the goods.

Quote of the Night: With the Premier League ready to get under way, here's a line from Football365's Mediawatch column where they point out the rather odd things that the mainstream British Press comes up with...

Biblical Proportions
Writes Steven Howard in The Sun: 'FOR 13 long years Chelsea and Frank Lampard have been inseparable. Like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cain and Abel, Marks and Spencer, one didn't operate without the other.'

Except when one killed the other.