Tei Shi - Pleasure Curses - Champagne Fever -- DC9 - Apr 25 2015

Champagne Fever - This local duo is in the electronica field, although I am pleased to see a lot of bass playing in their set. Add soulful vocals to these throbbing bass lines and you have an act that is able to create a fine live sensibility to the synth runs and drum beats. They are active on stage throughout and have some decent tunes as well. This is a quality opening set and perfect for a Saturday evening in a crowded club. You could feel the audience working up the beginnings of a fever.

Pleasure Curses - I have enjoyed this duo quite a bit in the past with their Morrisey-esque vocals delivering fine pop tunes with electronics backing that up. Tonight was a bit more subdued for some reason. The vocals were more like withdrawn-Bowie, still with a fine quality, but down a notch on the energy scale. A couple of songs later in the set picked things up and showed them at their best. So it was not a home run tonight, but they are still a band worth catching some time.

Tei Shi - The crowd quickly revved up to the fascinating music of this trio, led by Argentian born, Brooklyn residing Valerie Teicher. With full time drums and a guitarist/keyboardist backing her vocals and occasional keyboards, they combined atmosphere and strength to deliver some powerful and unique pop music. The first song was all about atmosphere as the drummer proved able to create passages that emphasized the quiet before he would punch into a bigger beat for a bouncier song. The vocals are not quite as audacious as Kate Bush, but they have some of the same effect, especially with music that is challenging whilst retaining accessibility. There is only an EP out at present, so the future looks quite bright for Tei Shi, especially as this is day one of an extensive tour. I am glad I caught her in the beginning of what could be a long career, as crowds are certainly going to get larger and ticket prices higher the next time through.

Photo of the Night: I saw a picture of an overwhelming drum kit. So here's a quiz, whose kit does this belong to?