SHOW OF THE MONTH
Drive-By Truckers / Don Chambers & GOAT / Bo Bedingfield & the Wydelles
40 Watt
Athens, GA
January 10, 2008
The Drive-By Truckers previewed the Home Front World Tour 2008 with a three-night stand at Athen’s 40 Watt. The first show (a benefit for the Truckers’ favorite local nonprofit, Nuci’s Space), served as a chance for the band to perform its soon to be released album in its entirety for the hometown fans. Openers for this special show were Athen’s own Bo Bedingfield & the Wydelles and Don Chambers & GOAT. Bo Bedingfield & the Wydelles played a short set of lyrical folk and country in support of last year’s Cleargreen EP while Chambers’ gravel-filled vocals, banjo and hubcap drum-driven rockabilly served as the perfect appetizer for what was to come.
It is easy to see that DBT feels right at home at the 40 Watt, a fact made even more evident by their choosing it to first reveal the final form of the new album. The band road-tested most of the tracks during The Dirt Underneath tour last year, giving the Truckers a chance to refine and perfect the new tunes before heading into the studio to commit them to tape.
After a short auction of DBT gear to benefit Nuci’s Space, the band took the stage with acoustic guitars in hand and eased into “Two Daughters and a Beautiful Wife,” the heart-wrenching opener from Brighter Than Creation’s Dark. The new tunes present an even more mature and confident group, continuing the band’s increasing focus on astute storytelling and more complex arrangements as opposed to the rowdy Southern anthems of the past. As far as DBT performances go, this was a fairly tame set, although this does not mean that the band lacked passion or excitement; it only offers further proof that the new album presents a more lyrical side of the band.
Musically, the Truckers sounded superb, with the always-consistent vocal and instrumental performances of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley. Stepping up with newly utilized songwriting and singing duties, Shonna Tucker offered the most intimate performances of the night. Tracks such as “I’m Sorry Huston” and “The Purgatory Line” displayed her hidden gifts as a songwriter while her softly delivered vocals served as the perfect compliment to those of Hood and Cooley. Spooner Oldham’s continued presence on tour offered another layer of experienced musicianship while John Neff’s impressive pedal steel abilities carried many of the more solemn songs. Other standout performances of the evening included Cooley’s “A Ghost to Most” and Hood‘s “The Righteous Path.” Although most of the tracks were new to the audience, the majority of the attendees were extremely supportive and patient - further testament to the dedicated fan base that the band enjoys in Athens and, increasingly, the rest of the country.
-Review & photo by Micah J. McLain
Altar White / Chris Burns / The Fling / CPM
The Social
Orlando, FL
January 10, 2008
This was the final night of the first annual Social Resolutionary Battle of the Bands, a four-night showcase for bands to “show their stuff” and win cash, merchandise, radio play, shows and more. The bands weren’t judged against one another; it was more of an opportunity to show that they were ready (or not) to take the stage in better venues by bringing people into their shows, and having the stage presence to command attention to their sets with good audience interaction and great music.
It was early for a show, and the crowd was sparse as Altar White took the stage. The Orlando-based Christian pop-rock band started off with “One More Year” from its debut CD Progress. Band members Justin Swartsel (vocals/guitar), Edgar Quintanilla (guitar), Becka Knight (backing vocals), MJ (bass) and Nate Robinson (drums) played an inspired but short set of six songs closing out with “Just Beyond The Sun.” Guitarist Quintanilla was the obvious showman of the band jumping and bouncing around the stage, while in contrast lead vocalist/ guitarist Swartsel barely looked up from the stage floor the entire set.
Orlando-based singer/songwriter Chris Burns was next with a solo acoustic set. He may have been alone on stage but his animated stage presence and his use of live loops made it seem like anything but a one-man show. He is captivating to watch as he coaxes an amazing array of sounds from his guitar, sometimes funky, sometimes bluesy, and always entertaining. His set included “Bread” and “Drive” from his recently released six-song EP CB Radio, as well as a cover of Tupac’s “California Love.”
Next up was The Fling with its modern rockabilly sound, a nice blend of rock, soul and a bit of the blues. Band members Alex Eastman (bass), Sharif Mekawy (keyboard), Erik de la Cruz (drums) and Justin Kangrga (lead vocals/guitar) had the audience two-stepping throughout their set. The band played songs from its six-song EP as well as a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop.” They closed their short set with the high-energy “Ain’t Done Yet.”
The final band of the night was CPM (Christian Porn Machine), an indie rock band from Orlando. The three-piece band, Calvin Cearley (vocals/guitar), Aaron Harden (vocals/bass) and Allen Powell (drums) played a spirited seven-song set, with Cearley and Harden each taking lead vocal duties. Their set included “Rock Baby,” “Get Used” and “Good On You.” During The Fling’s set, Powell could be seen doing stretches and various warm up exercises and once he was on stage it was easy to see why - he was a blur of motion on his kit from first song to last.
Each band held its own with top-notch original music, if that would have been the only criteria for judging, they all could have won.
-Review & photo by Kat Coffin
Patrick Burke / Chris Glover
Studio Café
Orlando, FL
January 5, 2008
The cozy ambiance of the Studio Café is the perfect setting for an acoustic showcase, with big comfy chairs to curl up in while listening to the music and hearing some of the stories behind the songs.
Patrick Burke started off the evening with “Wanna Be,” a catchy, melodic song from his solo debut CD Lettuce Pray Project. His powerful, passionate voice was full of warmth as he played through several more songs from the record, including “Feel Me Crumble,” “Secondary Ordinary” and “Everything.” He sang the as yet unrecorded “Wonderful,” a song about a card he got from someone saying how wonderful he was, and then how the next week he wasn’t so wonderful anymore.
The central Florida-based singer/songwriter also included “Dysfunctional Country,” a song from his previous band, Searching For Gladys, as well as covers of Matchbox Twenty’s “Hang” and Asia’s “Heat Of The Moment.”
 Orlando based Chris Glover ended the night with a set of rustic, melodic songs, including “Part Of Me,” “The Present” and “So Alive.” His vocals were passionate and his lyrics heartfelt, whether he was singing about his family, his life or his mistakes. He sang “If I Will You,” a song in celebration of saying you’re sorry, and “Everything Is Gone” about a guy running away and having second thoughts. His set included the first song he ever recorded, “Sailboat Stories” from his debut CD On The Waterfront.
He sang “The Old Man And I,” a song he was inspired to write after reading a Jimmy Buffet story about a man in the Florida Keys. He also covered songs by Dave Matthews and Sister Hazel, as well as Marshall Tucker’s “Can’t You See,” commenting, “an original song, not my original song, but an original song for someone.”
He closed out his set with “She Used To Be A Man,” a quirky little ditty about the working girls found in the seedy part of town. As a recently retired law enforcement officer, he had had more than a few experiences over there.
An acoustic showcase is a great opportunity to shed light on quality songs, stripped of a big stage and a full band; there are no distractions that can camouflage a lesser song. The songs of both performers held up very well under the scrutiny.
-Review & photo by Kat Coffin
Up With the Joneses / The Last Straw / Caesar Brown / Exit/In
Nashville, TN
January 4, 2008
It was a frosty night in Nashville, but the music inside the Exit/In was warm and inviting as the bands treated an enthusiastic crowd to balmy, soulful rock ‘n’ roll.
Opening band Caesar Brown started the night off with smoky, smooth rock. The six-piece band, joined by three lovely backup singers, played a mix of tightly performed songs for their many supporters. Solid covers of Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean” and Allman Brothers Band staple “Whipping Post” showed their influences, and originals like “2nd Ave Blues” and “Queen of the South” proved their songwriting mettle.
The Last Straw’s lead singer/guitarist Kyle Daniel  led his band through 11 finely crafted tunes and extended jams. Daniel’s potent vocals and fierce guitar leads drove the melody while drummer John Salaway and bassist Justin Pickle locked in and anchored the rhythm. This combination allowed guitarist Quincy Meeks and keyboardist Adam Botner to add their own flavor to the mix. Botner’s keys shimmered and swelled around the music while the barefoot Meeks played a mean harp that brought the blues to the band’s blues-rock sound. Each Last Straw member more than held his own as a soloist, but the band’s strength came through in its tightly arranged numbers.
This tight musicianship was on display all night - especially when sax player Dave Jones joined the group on the stellar “Soul on Fire” and the Allman Brothers Band’s “Southbound.” Sans sax, standout tunes included the opener “Take a Ride,” the powerful “Down the Line,” and a new song, “Find Your Way Home” - each boasting solid riffs and soaring choruses. The middle section of the set centered on a colorful rendition of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young’s “Love the One You’re With” that melded into a rhythm section solo. As the rest of the band briefly left the stage, Salaway and Pickle stepped up to shine. One by one the band reassembled, launched back into “Love,” and showed that, while the band’s parts are magnificent, the sum is even greater.
The night closed with a bang provided by Up With the Joneses. T.J. Greever and company came to the stage with frenetic energy and catchy funk-pop songs. Bassist Dan Pinson led the charge with bombastic runs reached a peak in the band’s rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground” that would have done the master - and The Red Hot Chili Peppers - proud.
All three bands benefited from a personalized light show that ebbed and flowed with the music and brought even more warmth to the venerable Exit/In.
-Review & photo by Jason Peterson
The Protomen / Wax Fang / Velcro Stars
The Mercy Lounge
Nashville, TN
January 12 2008
Nashville was a busy city this past January 12, with great music playing from several stages around town. The Mercy Lounge saw some of the finest with long-time Murfreesboro band Velcro Stars, rising Louisville favorite Wax Fang, and Murfreesboro-come-Nashville creations The Protomen. To those who knew what was in store it was a treat; to those who didn’t it almost certainly was an awe-inspiring experience.
Velcro Stars had been on vacation since September, but despite the long break and loss of Andy Spore on drums (Andy left in September to tour with How I Became The Bomb in Europe), the band projected an effort and coordination apt enough to grab a dedicated throng of fans near the front of the room. Singer and guitarist Keith Pratt lead the group through a long set of tunes, then handed mic duties off to fellow guitarist Shane Spresser for “Cascade.” By the time they stepped down the Mercy had already filled out and pushed forward.
Louisville’s Wax Fang has no shortage of fans in the neighboring Nashville, but just in case the band brought plenty of its own folks down from Kentucky (the relatively rare Protomen show surely helped this). The band started off their set thundering through “Majestic,” the first track on their recently released album La La Land. Kevin Ratterman’s eyes grew steadily wilder through “Rattlesnakes,” but it wasn’t until the band’s third song that the trio really locked into the fury of colors they’re known for. Singer and guitarist Scott Carney went to work on the Theremin again, and for several past shows Ratterman has been sneaking a laptop back at the drum kit to flesh out a large gothic sound.
When the climactic end of “Black & Endless Night Revisited” rose from the stage, it was accompanied by chorus and organ pouring through The Mercy Lounge.
The Protomen’s set started with a dimly lit stage and masked android. “Nashville,” he asked, “we have fought with you in battle many times before. We have just one question: are you with us?”
A jubilant and raucous crowd cheered the band onto stage from there. The Protomen are always a large group on stage, and for this set they brought three backup singers, a full metal band, a lead singer known only as “Panther,” and an auxiliary character for acting out the intricate rock operas that other bands would call songs. Most of The Protomen’s epic anthems are based on a back-story from the video game MegaMan.
Panther performed with vocals that perfectly matched the mythological proportion of the band. His bold and tightly controlled voice made duets with Amy Smith (also of Happy Birthday Amy) dramatic and satisfying. In encore the band first played a new song from an unannounced but upcoming album, then appeased a request for their cover of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”. It ended as it began, light on an android mask and a cryptic message: “Nashville, you are safe again.”
-Review & photo by Matt Beale
Attractive Eighties Women / Pistolero / Bases Loaded
The Earl
Atlanta, GA
January 12, 2008
The Attractive Eighties Women CD release party, a show already primed for the ridiculous, ended even more dramatically than expected. The raunchy, loud, extravagantly costumed, and adamantly politically-incorrect rock group had completed its fourth song (“Pandamonium,” which couldn’t be more appropriate), when an audience member threw a glass at the stage, cutting AEW singer Mack Williams (AKA Phoebe Cates) and effectively ending the evening. The airborne glass hit Williams’ microphone stand and shattered, sending a shard into his left wrist. Confusion ensued. Much of the audience, without a clear sight-line and prepared for the absurdity usually to be found at an AEW performance, didn’t immediately realize the seriousness of the situation and milled around helplessly as Williams bled on his shoes.
 After a hospital visit and seven stitches, Williams is mending fine. The band has even taken this opportunity to release the numbers completed before the incident as an EP entitled In Stitches, complete with album art of the broken glass on top of the setlist of the night. The EP now accompanies the release that was being celebrated, the band’s first full-length album, Coup D’é Ta-Ta’s, which also includes the standout tracks played at the show, “Lightning Bolt” and “They Shoot Hipsters, Don’t They?” (featuring a laundry list of “hipster” places to visit in Atlanta that made the local audience yell with self-conscious laughter).
All the, well, pandemonium served to overshadow what had already been an entertaining spectacle. Bases Loaded, the two-man, two-bass, two-Oakland Athletics-uniform, two-fake-handlebar-mustache act billed as “Atlanta’s Only Rollie Fingers Tribute Band” started out the night. Songs made mediocre or predictable when covered by anyone else were relentlessly funny on two basses, complete with song false-starts and a finale performance of none other than Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” (during which the duo turned on the flashing logos in their baseball caps).
After Bases Loaded, the more traditional, bright pop-rock of Atlanta’s Pistolero seemed downright morose. Which isn’t to say the band played un-energetically or didn’t do themselves justice; the prowess each member of Pistolero possesses on his respective instrument came across full-force. What’s more, the most impressive aspect of the set was the sheer commitment they displayed. Keyboardist John Fernando Ochoa throttled his tambourine as if it owed him money while frontman Pallon Patrick swung his mic and careened around the stage, a performer in his true element. Despite their solid show, Pistolero’s set came across like the eye of a hurricane in between such whimsy and chaos.
-Review & photo by Julia Reidy
Paper Route / Butterfly Boucher / Brooke Waggoner
Mercy Lounge
Nashville, TN
January 11, 2008
Nashville’s Mercy Lounge filled up early for its Friday lineup, a show of three fairly experimental bands with thoroughly unique sounds. Fans unlucky enough to get to the Mercy Lounge late were stuck in a bureaucratic mess of ID-checking until the room sold out, but those who got in early enjoyed watching the line shorten from the venue’s deck through Brooke Waggoner’s set.
Waggoner’s pop songwriting was clean and sharp through a digital piano, and at times her hands flew at such a pace it seemed like 88 keys weren’t enough for her to play her own songs. “So So,” with clever lyrics like “Offered tobacco/To which I vetoed,” and the beautifully muted joy of its refrain warmed the crowd. A following of fans was shuffled forward when she took the stage, but by the time she broke for Butterfly Boucher the room was nearly at capacity.
Boucher has been polishing her act and recording in Nashville for a while now, with a recent highlight being her performance in front of a packed and excited crowd at last year’s Next Big Nashville. This was another full band appearance, in contrast to the few solo sets she played in 2007. Her stage show didn’t approach the produced complexity of her recorded work, but live energy stripped some of the sweeter flavors in her pop and left the Mercy Lounge audience with a solid core of rock. “Sorry” she apologized before dropping into “I Can’t Make Me,” “Someone decided to write these fucking ridiculous songs in different keys.” Butterfly Boucher is a well-known artists abroad, and always seems to pull a big crowd eager to catch her in Nashville while they still can.
A fire alarm was already flickering before Paper Route flooded the stage with their brand of Christian electronica-pop. The sound is something like Nashville’s own New Orleans refugees Mute Math, rock driven by intricate synthesizers and heavy drumming. Paper Route’s set kicked off with “Second Chances,” a duet from the band’s self-titled album that was instead performed solo by J. T. Daly for the show. “We Are All Forgotten” marked the high point of the last set with its defiantly sung refrain of “Don’t you break my heart” and a dense assault of crunchy synth pads. Syncopated rhythms and extended breakdowns worked better with a live kick drum that literally moved the floor than on any recording the group has made. Paper Route is something most certainly at its best performing right in front of you.
-Review & photo by Matt Beale |
