Onward Chariots - J. Lima Foxtrot -- Galaxy Hut - Sep 28 2014

J. Lima Foxtrot - These are early days for this interesting Virginia outfit. They feature a couple of guitars with lead female vocals and backing male vocals. There is a rhythm section and some synthesizers used by the guitarists. The synthesizers work with the guitars in an interesting (and occasionally fun and cheesy) manner to bring out older and newer pop forms. The sound was slow to develop as nothing seemed to be balanced and even cohesive early on. After a short delay, the sound man sorted it out and corrected the biggest problem by elevating the lead vocals. The songs were more impressive after that and some of the guitar moves were pretty cool. You could see some of the uncertainty in the playing (endings are always a giveaway) but again it is early days and there is some promise here for sure.

Onward Chariots - I have not seen this Brooklyn quartet for a while, which is my loss as is a pleasure to catch a live set from this quirky pop band. They have a new bass player who fit like a glove with the drummer and lead guitar leaving singer Ben Morrs to add a variety of keyboard runs and/or guitar to the songs. All of the interesting pop moves are there which range from arty to fresh and innocent. There is also plenty of place and strong rock moves in many of the songs as their set shines with variety as well as personality. The breezy style with the Jonathan Richman charm works well here in this cozy environment. The Galaxy Hut only holds 66 people and the few dozen who were here tonight dug into the music and had a fine time. Do seek out this band on one of their regular trips to our area, as they have an approach that could well delight you.

Quote of the Night: I head back to the Tom Hawking List of the 30 harshest musician on musician quotes and this maybe number 2 on his list, but it's number 1 for me...

2. Anton Newcombe on Eric Clapton
, “People talk about Eric Clapton. What has he ever done except throw his baby off a fuckin’ ledge and write a song about it?”