Justin Collins - I had a play to see so I rushed over and caught all of one minute of this trio. And that's ok, as I am thinking much more of the Dark Shadows character Justin Collins who died a few weeks ago as I'm nearing the end of a 1,245 episode viewing of this bizarre television experience. Fortunately I ran into someone who's opinion is at least as good as my own who told me the set was decent enough and described them as one of those 'tweener' bands that tend a bit toward Americana, a bit toward indie rock, and added some decent boogie moves at times. And that makes sense from a hip Nashville guy.
New Madrid - These Georgians were just here in February and it is good to see them gigging again on this tour as they are young and still can gain some valuable experience with lots of shows. The sound has not changed much from their intriguing mix of psychedelia, indie rock, and shoegaze played with different layers of intensity. I wrote about it
here, and all this applies as they went over pretty well tonight as well. The sound was muddier tonight and the band was a little more loose, which was ok at times, not at others. I like these guys and they have found some tricks in freshening up psychedelic music in this century. If they keep gigging and writing, it's gonna get really good, even though it is just fine already.
Diamond Rugs - This is a second tier supergroup (maybe first tier), I suppose--depends on your meaning for 'super'. They feature three guitars and rhythm section featuring current or former members of Deer Tick, Black Lips, Dead Confederate, Six Finger Satellite, and Los Lobos. Steve Berlin of Los Lobos had to fly off and do something for his main band, but with three guitars already, it did not hurt the sound tonight. For they were loud and proud, banging out strong rock songs with enough pop hooks so they sounded familiar even for the first time. They leaned toward the garage at times, while tightening up for a more modern rock style in other songs. They varied the lead vocals and harmonized plenty as well, as they had a fun sense of just pushing things forward and letting it hang out. This was a fine show, perfect for a Friday night. If you like the bands these guys come from (and many do), you will have no problem with this set as they are not going off on a crazy tangent.
Quote of the Night: This is an overheard elevator conversation from my friend in Chicago...
“I’m thinking of hiring a psychic, but the people at the hospital don’t think that’s such a good idea…”
Frankly, if a band is touted as a "supergroup", then all of the band members should show up for work. I would gladly have traded a couple of the guitars for Steve Berlin, whose low-register sax would have transformed the sound in ways that guitars never could.
ReplyDeleteBut maybe that's just me.
The first sax should always be better than the third guitar--maybe not for Skynyrd. This is the second time in the last month band members had other band commitments and missed the DC show. Funny how we only learn that when the band is on stage. Hope this is not a trend.
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