Famous for a Century - I thought it might be slow, I mean the Boss is playing at Nationals Park. I count 13 people
here at DC9. It is the unofficial end of summer and I guess everyone isn't
quite ready to admit it. That's okay, I for one, am ready for it to be over.
Just two bands this evening, both local; Famous For A Century and Devils Walk
As Saints. The former is up first, a three piece that plays much louder than
their parts. I was only able to catch a portion of the first guitar solo but
what I heard was good. It is decidedly geared more towards pop friendly rock but
the tone and composition are exceptional. Mostly power chords, though
occasionally he adds flourishes by way of sweep picking. And as I mentioned
earlier, this is definitely radio friendly, however the songs are composed in
such a way that each member is allowed to showcase their individual talents in
a way that isn't so vanilla. For instance, while most of the pieces are simple
time in regard to time signatures, Dave is able to come up with some pretty
nifty beats. Vocally, the range is expansive and though it took some time for
him to warm up by the end of set Aly was certainly soaring.
Devils Walk as Saints - Devils Walk as Saints soon follow; closing out the summer.
If interested, they are working on some new stuff which, I have been told, can
be found at their SoundCloud page. The three piece begin quietly, fuzz envelops
the room before a drum fill signifies the real start of the set. After a quick
adjustment to their levels, they begin to play some of their newer pieces.
Though still radio friendly, they lean less on the pop elements Famous For A
Century did earlier tonight. The drums and more specifically, the fills remind
me of early Taylor Hawkins. I'm not sure that you can really go wrong with
fills. On more than one occasion, their pieces abruptly stop, two of the
members giving way to one to play alone. I wouldn't call it a solo more like a
bridge but not in traditional sense. As always, everything sounds excellent
tonight at DC9 but there is something missing from the set. The vocals are a
little flat and there is almost no banter. In this almost empty room, the lack
of energy adds this element of tension. I will say that the tone of both the
guitar and bass are on point. Both sound excellent. Devils Walk As Saints make
a mention of Failure and for a second I thought a cover may soon follow. Alas
that was not the case. Though they did the work for me, and perhaps this is
biased (it is) I do hear elements of Failure within their compositions; an
alternative sound but an attention to detail that was usually lost in
distortion of the mid 90s. Though it was quiet tonight, the two sets were a fun
way to mark the end of the season.
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