Last night proved to be an exhilarating evening of new music discoveries. Rarely does both my ā??Arty Popā? and ā??Need to Rockā? fancies get ticked at the same show. Various body parts were seen attempting to move to the beat as well.
Having seen Three Days Grace, American Minor was certainly not the worst band ever to play at the 9:30 club, and I too kept expecting Jason Lee to bound on stage. While liberally borrowing from any Southern Rock band with Cousin It tresses, American Minor certainly didnā??t seem as forced as the Kings of Leon. It took a couple songs but I warmed up to them, but they got me in a good frame of mind for the show.
Was very interested in hearing The Dears based on the EP I had heard from them and they did not disappoint. Their set had the same impact that the Delgados had on me when I saw at the ā??Hateā? tour. That feeling of WOW this group is great, totally digging what they had to offer and being completely won over. I was pretty much bouncing off the walls after their set.
While the bands initial wall of feedback and distortion could be off putting to some, it was that when paired with the subtle flute and harmonica touches that set the mood for the set. A top notch set which consisted of arty pop, complete with strange twists and turns in the flow of the compositions. The singer, sounding nothing like Morrissey, reminded me more of David Bowie and Damon Alban. Wish I knew the song title, but about the third song from the end, The Dear delivered one of the best Ziggy Stardust era inspired tunes Iā??ve heard.
The Dears secret weapons include the drummer with his jazz influenced soft to explosive style of playing. A more percussive driven sound then rock steady. Also the sound engineer who was serving as seventh member of the band, by adding touch of sound manipulation which included swirling the sound between the speakers. Iā??m eagerly looking forward to any future The Dears show, especially the tour when they take along the Quadraphonic sound system.
The Soundtrack Of Our Lives is also a bit Iā??m just learning about. Had given ā??Behind The Musicā? a few whirls and enjoyed what was on offer. TSOOL certainly bring the appropriate tools in which to rock with, Double Bass Drum Kit containing the spirit of Keith Moon, Flying V Guitars, Rickenbacker basses, and a larger than life singer. Where else is one going to hear the best of 60s and 70s rock on parade done so lovingly right? The Who, MC5, Pink Floyd, New York Dolls, Iggy Pop and even a little Robert Pollard is lurking in the shadows.
TSOOL ebbed and flowed at the beginning, but really caught fire towards the end before the encores. TSOOL could have been utterly brilliant and made me forget about The Dears, completely sucked, or fallen in the middle. In the end I give The Dear a slight advantage on the evening, because TSOOL delivered the rock. A great evening where both bands proved they were better than most, and I left the club with a smile on my face.
