Hollus embodies so much '70s Nostalgia I felt like I was watching Almost Famous again. Lead vocalist Jamison Acker even resembles Russell Hammond - he could have walked out of the movie and onto the stage. But Acker adopted the spirit of the ‘70s beyond just the aesthetic. He had the attitude, and more importantly, he had the chops and the presence to front the show. Vocalists without instruments don't always know what to do with their hands, but Acker did not hold back, windmilling about the stage amid edgy vocals. Guitarist Michael Lux, looking much like a younger and less creepy Pete Townshend, dominated the Les Paul while harmonizing with Acker and fellow backup vocalist Katie Brandt. These five may seem like period performers, but there's a reason the popularity of classic rock has blazed well into the new millennium. Watching Hollus perform their bluesy, all-American rock felt like a welcome time warp, the kind I used to fantasize about back when I first got into Zeppelin and the like.

The Mutts, with frontman Mike Maimone, kept us in the era, though on a different channel. Nowadays, when you think of piano ballads, someone like Maimone is not the performer that comes to mind. But his is a genre he inhabits fully. Muscling over an electric piano, Maimone banged out gruff, rock ballads that the Mutts (on drums and bass) gave backbone and spark. The Mutts' musicianship was solid all around, but I felt that something in Maimone's songcraft was distilled by the keyboard holding the place for a real piano. Obviously, uprights have their share of logistical problems and most venues don't keep them around. It's a shame for songwriters like Maimone, a piano man whose songs aren't made for synth. Under his rough vocals the keyboard sounded tinny and disembodied, like when full-on rock bands use drum machines for demos. Nevertheless, the Mutts delivered solidly and unapologetically.

www.myspace.com/hollusmusic
www.mikemaimone.com




Photographer: Sasha Geffen (Hollus)