Monday, September 15, 2014

Man... or Astro-man? - The Pack A.D. - Wray -- Black Cat - Sep 14 2014

Wray - A Birmingham trio is up first, and despite the working in of a ferocious shoegaze sound, this is actually the Alabama side of Birmingham, not England. The vocals are where the floating dreamy ambiance occurs. Underneath is a ferocious churning rhythm section and grinding guitar moves that is quite exciting. At times it shares a droning feel, although it is quite busy so it has a different feel. The audience is probably not digging in as much as I am, but there are clearly many people up front that are hooked. I love the brisk and punchy energetic sounds rolling on and on, unyielding. If these guys can work up a few more creative flourishes, they could have something really great. As it is now, it works for me. And post first draft review note... The band accurately describes their sound on Facebook: powergaze.

The Pack A.D. - Yet another guitar and drums duo, this time it is all female with both chipping in on vocals. There is a primitive punk beat within this fierce blues-rock structure in a manner you would expect. They have a fine personal style that makes this cliched format work a bit better than most. Still, it is that guitar and drums thing I have heard too many times to get terribly excited about. One more instrument would add a lot. These two are talented and it is a decent set as it is, but I would like to see more next time through.
Man... or Astro-Man? - These guys tore it up last time through, in one of the best shows of the year. Tonight, it was not quite in that league. I was pretty tired from my schedule, so between that and this Sunday night, I think the edge was off a little. But the band somewhat agreed telling the crowd that they gave themselves a high C grade after a few songs, where they had broken strings and other problems. It was also the last night of the tour, so I was not the only tired one in the room. Yet even with these problems, the songs were still pretty awesome as this band plays some of the more creative and ferocious variety of surf-garage rock that you will ever want to hear. So they still gave me a good kick in the butt with their pace and power and had wild melodic runs zipping around my ears the entire time. This is one of the most reliable bands to deliver a fun high energy set, and even with a few screw-ups, they did it again tonight.

Quote of the Night: Three left in the countdown to finish off the list of worst musician on musician quotes compiled by Tom Hawking.

3. Morrissey on Brett Anderson
“He’ll never forgive God for not making him Angie Bowie.”

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