Thursday, April 07, 2011

New noise now

There was a killer bill at Mavericks last night, with awesome sets by locals Dreamphone (at least judging from the bit I caught), geek-rockers Matters and lovelorn guitar shred duo P.S. I Love You.

I missed the first half of Dreamphone's indie-noise loving set because of laundry duties. What I did see was very impressive - of course The Pixies and My Bloody Valentine formed an early part of my musical education so I would say that ... the trio is made up of a bunch of familiar faces: Conrad Amenta of Books on Books, Jordanna Marchand of Les Alumettes and James Romanuk of Crush Buildings.

Dreamphone at Mavericks
Dreamphone at Mavericks, April 6, 2011

Dreamphone at Mavericks
Dreamphone at Mavericks, April 6, 2011

Next up were Matters. Am I the only person who thought in the wake of the "D'Urbervilles are dead" announcement that John O'Regan's success as Diamond Ring meant the rest of the band were soldiering on without him under the new name? As it turns out, John O'Regan is still fronting the band, which seems to be rocking harder than ever. The crowd was really wowed by the set and the new songs sound great.

I'd recognize that hat and rainbow guitar strap anywhere!

Matters at Mavericks
Matters at Mavericks, April 6, 2011

They've definitely turned up the volume.

Matters at Mavericks
Matters at Mavericks, April 6, 2011

The Matters set was so good I worried that P.S. I Love You - who are also big pals of the Artist Formerly Known As The D'Urbervilles - might be overshadowed. I need not worry, since frontman Paul Saulnier and drummer Benjamin Nelson kick out a mighty noise for a duo. With his red mop Saulnier cuts an unlikely rock god figure, but let's just say he's the falsetto Leslie West of the 21st century, and he can certainly play the guitar like nobody's business.

P.S. I Love You at Mavericks
P.S. I Love You at Mavericks April 6, 2011

Let me just add that I'm a fan of shows where the drummer isn't stuck at the back.

P.S. I Love You at Mavericks
P.S. I Love You at Mavericks April 6, 2011

The only problem: No encores from anyone.

1 comment:

Conrad said...

Hey, thanks for the awesome review! - Conrad