Ezra Furman - J Fernandez -- DC9 - Aug 6 2015

J Fernandez - We begin with the first of two keyboard and guitar bands anchored by a rhythm section. The sound is bright and strong with crisp rock, catchy pop moves, and just a hint of the garage particularly in the farsifa type organ sounds. The keyboardist varies his sound depending on the song as does the guitar, which shows off a subtle Byrdsian brand of psychedelia. The vocal quality is good and there are some harmonies, which they should probably work to employ further. There are some great deep mysterious organ sounds coupled with fiery guitars atop a powerful base to close out this set with their strongest cut. This is definitely worth further looks/listens for me, and probably quite a few people in this large crowd.

Ezra Furman - The striking opening sounds are led by twisted vocal vibrato direct from the heartland with just a wee bit of rasp to it. It's not clear how well this will play out, but ultimately the voice is intriguing and expressive with the wide variety of songs this band concocts. There are songs that bring in old time rock'n'roll but without nostalgia with a strong core evident. There is even a Bo Diddley stomper complete with that beat embedded deep within every rock fan. Furman seems an odd duck of sorts, but he knows how to rock and have fun. He is like a more pleasant under control James Chance. His backing band is called the Boyfriends for this tour and in addition to the fine sounds of the instruments mentioned in the opening set, he has a saxophonist that does not dominate the sound but instead thickens it out and only occasionally asks for any direct attention. There is another hot finish and pretty much everyone in this crowd is going home happy.

Quote of the Night: E.Furman... "Only one bra, DC?... I'm kidding, only one person has ever thrown a bra onstage and that person here is unique."