| |
Review: |
|
Sometimes, even though it's a work night, you just need to go out and see a show on a Thursday. Such was this evening, when we headed out to "the doublewide with a view" to catch a rare eNTERTAINME.nt performance.
The first act was Tenth to the Moon, whom i had seen open for Suicide a little over a year ago. They put on a fun show of bizarre electronics that night, and i wanted to see them do it again.
Well, tonight it took them a little while to beat their computers into submission, so they didn't start performing until 10:45 . The music was excellent, though. It was synthpop with crunchy beats and soaring melodies, all done in a minor key. Well, at first at least. Then, later, the lead singer started chanting and singing in a very Teutonic style that fit well with the darker keyboard music. He also played the drums some, which added a little bit of added excitement. Not to say that they were boring at all, it's just that live drumming sounds a lot richer than a drum machine. Just like last time, i would say that reference points for this band include Cabaret Voltaire, early Skinny Puppy, and maybe some earlier Depeche Mode. Very very fun.
And then they brought out a special guest singer for the last song: Renee Nelson of Envie. Ms. Nelson sang and pogoed while the one 10ttM member drummed and sang backup and the other guy pounded away at his keyboards. It took them two tries to get the song going due to their continuing technical difficulties, but when they did it was well worth it. A great end to a very enjoyable set. This is a band i must be look out for….
Tenth to the Moon tore down their gear very quickly, and the next band, Junius, set up very quickly and were playing less than 45 minutes after Tenth to the Moon started. Pretty good! Anyway, Junius are a touring act, who were in town from Boston. (I wonder what they thought of performing in a trailer?) They are a standard 4-piece, and they played on a mostly darkened stage, so that it was hard to see the band members.
But they were excellent in concert. There was a certain dark shoegazerishness to their performance, as if Robert Smith were fronting The Chameleons. Actually, that Robert Smith comparison is important, because the vocalist's singing style clearly referenced Mr. Smith. Add to that mix a bit of the volume of Explosions in the Sky, and you have a band that plays lush, darker music that simply explodes on the choruses. Very lovely, and i enjoyed the show so much that i picked up a CD. Hopefully they will come back here soon, as i would definitely go and see this band again.
Up next was the band we were really there to see, eNTERTAINME.nt. However, well, as Junius were gearing out, i saw eNTERTAINME.nt vocalist Trey in the crowd and went over to say hi. He mentioned that perhaps this wasn't the best night to come and see the band, as they had lost their bassist that very day (or maybe the one before). At any rate, the band had experienced a sudden lineup change, and this was their first show with the new, smaller band.
Trey had taken up guitar duties along with his singing and dancing. The guitarist had moved over to bass, and the keyboardist and drummer were still doing their own thing. However, the sound mix tonight was awful. All i heard was bass, which was up so loud that it even drowned out the drums. Granted, the old guitarist/new bassist is very talented and a lot of fun to watch, but, on the whole, eNTERTAINME.nt sounded rather off. Still, the band really tried hard, even if the sound system wasn't cooperating. I will reserve judgment for after the band has worked out the kinks in this new lineup, but the songs still sounded good.
So, it was a slightly disappointing end to the night, but it had been a good show overall. |
|
