I sent a few of my Minions to accompany Minion-to-be Dilettante in Distress on an assignment. The show starred Seaworthy, the latest side-project of Josh McKay from Macha. Dilettante in Distress -- what are your thoughts?

Seaworthy.

I love this band name more than the band, I think.

After having some time to let it all sink in, my husband asked me what I thought about Seaworthy...

I guess I'd have to say that I would take a flawed Macha performance over Seaworthy. Or, in terms more befitting the band name, I'd say that Macha's efforts are better suited to navigating the seas of indie rock than the more ambitiously named side project, which in my humble opinion, sprung a slow leak somewhere toward the beginning of the set. So, in essence, not truly "seaworthy."

Really?

Well, they did start with a terrible song to do live -- that first number did not come across well in concert. It was too slow and too ambient to be performed in front of a bunch of people who are standing up. However, they soon picked up and got into a real groove....

I found that there music "gelled" quite often.

I'd actually line up with PostLibyan on this one. As I commented to him, Seaworthy really reminded me of Macha back in 1997 (when I first saw them). Back then, Macha had the hammered dulcimer up front and didn't have all the "eastern" influences. They were more of a Tortoise-damaged jam rock band -- a cocept which I really liked. In fact I may have been one of the few who increasing disliked Macha as time progressed -- as they became more ambitious and pretentious (does anyone remember the fog machine...?) Either way, Seaworthy really did seem like a throwback.

I agree with you there. What i disliked about this performance was the "raw" feeling it had, instead of the finely polished work of Macha.

Except for a couple of grabby numbers, like the (was it?) Lone Star Samba at the end, I didn't think the Seaworthy set was very interesting. It was like Macha, but without the real guts of Macha.

You know, when i saw Macha open for The The they were tight and "on". I've seen them about three other times, and at least twice they never "got it together" on stage... It's like they can't bring all of their wierd instrumentation and rhythms and melodies together to form a unified whole. Seaworthy had that lack of focus a few times, but for the most part i think that there was a consistent vision. Perhaps this is caused by the band being Jash McKay's project, and not a mass collaboration.

However, i can see what you mean. Seaworthy was like Macha stripped down a bit, instumentationally. However, well, sometimes there is just too damned much going on in Macha. Seaworthy were stripped down and simpler. I think it worked for the most part.

In particular i thought that they had really good rhythm. Plus, i like it when he plays the hammer dulcimer. On the whole, Seaworthy's set was good "meditative" music. I would have liked to be sitting in a comfy chair with a latte to listen to them....

I think Seaworthy does need more time to season and age. Right now, most of their stuff has a "not-fully-developed" air about it. But then again, how long have they been around? Probably not more than 3-4 months (as a functioning band, instead of just McKay's recording side project).

That's true. Maybe they will get better over time.

Hmmmmm.... I agree too. On the whole, i think that they have a lot of potential. The sound is there, as is the songwriting ability. Aside from that first number, which was almost ambient (and quite boring), i think that the music had a rough cohesion to it that will only improve with time.

My my -- consensus. That doesn't happen often. Were there other bands this night?

The show started off with Audomobil?, who turned in another fine performance. Tracers and i just saw Audomobil? open for Hood, and we enjoyed them at that show. To recap quickly: Audomobil? are one girl who plays keyboards and sings some, a (really damned tall) guy who plays guitar and sings some, and a laptop with samples and drum loops. The music is a strange fusion of indie pop and electronica. It's a combination that really seems to work.

The only problem i have is that i think that they played pretty much the same set they played opening for Hood. Aside from some slight rhythmic irregularities from the guy, they are pretty tight and quite enjoyable. They continue to impress me live...

I really like the songs on which he sings. He's got a nice brit pop/indie voice that just makes me happy. I also like the jangly instumental tunes (but then again I have a real love of the "jangle pop" genre).

I don't even really remember his vocals, i guess because i was focusing so much on the interesting musical interplay between the guitar and the keyboards.... But that's good that each of us, with our different focuses, were able to find something to like!

True. I would also like to point out that the songs with more "beeping" and "booping" are well done and entertaining, but a little over the top.... Not really my thing i guess.

I dunno, i found their use of glitchy electronica to be subtle and not overdone. I think it worked well for them...

Of course, i have to say this (because i say it all the time): there are dozens of underemployed drummers out there -- HIRE ONE. I understand the convenience of using a laptop for your backing rhythm tracks, but live drumming comes across so much better! The laptop is better used for samples and things that a live drummer can't do...

Okay, sorry, i just have to rant about that. Dilettante in Distress, what did you think?

Well i don't know what to make of them. I enjoyed their set and was left feeling that I would like to hear more another time.

After Audomobil?, and before Seaworthy, we witnessed a performance by stillife;gaijin. This band consists of Alec Irvin and Jeremy Wilkins, formerly of Underwater. I was really looking forward to seeing them perform. However, well, the reality of their set was not exactly what i was looking for.

Basically, Irvin stood in front of a keyboard and played that and worked the samplers. Wilkins played guitar and sang. On a few numbers, Mrs. Wilkins was dragged on stage to sing, something she seemed very uncomfortable with. What i don't get is -- why didn't Emily from Tourmalin sing? She sang on the stillife;gaijin EP, and i saw her there in the crowd! In general, neither of the Wilkinses should sing -- they both seemed too uncomfortable doing it, and neither had a particularly noteworthy voice. Hire a damned singer guys!

Aside from the vocals, the music was nice. Not very challenging, but nice. I think that Dilettante in Distress's hubby nailed it right on the head when he said, "They sound like Shriekback sounded in the mid-80's."

So on the whole, i was quite disappointed. It seemed like Wilkins and Irvin are flailing around trying to find a new sound and a new focus for their new project. I urge them to keep searching, and to consider adding some additional members to flesh out the band. It's still a young project -- let's see where they go with it.

I don't know -- I was unimpressed. However, they did get the most interesting reaction of the night from all of us when they sang that "love" song (the one about the balled up clothes.....) Otherwise, I wasn't very pleased.

Personally i thought that stillife;gaijin was pretentious gothicness. You could hear echoes of bands that did the dark synth thing back in the day, like Shriekback and Tones on Tail.

The big problem was that Stillife's music had the effect of making me want to giggle, like the "clothes balled up" song that Tracers referenced, whereas their 80s predecessors' music was more than a bit sinister. It was a lot of posturing and not a whole lot of payoff.

Okay, well, i guess that wraps it up. So this was a pretty mediocre night then?

Yeah. No band really put on a dynamic stage show. The sound was fine, but overall, nothing really moved us completely.

None available.