It's nice to live in a city where a bunch of the clubs are in close proximity - you can go to Zaphod's to check out a few bands there, then head of to somewhere like Mavericks and Cafe DeKcuf and catch their later shows. That's just what I did last night. Lauchie Headrick of Jokers Wild asked me to check them out and snap some photos, and since I liked the classic rock sound on their Myspace I did just that.
You didn't need the very capable cover of Led Zeppelin's
Dazed And Confused to tell these guys like their heavy duty riffing. Loads of wah and some hefty drumming, plus some quite supple bbass woprk make for a good listen.
Jokers Wild at Zaphod Beeblebrox, February 4, 2010
I wasn't as keen on Pressure Makes Diamonds, though the band did have two-dozen pals to belly up to the stage, so that's probably just my taste in music. They do the throaty punk rock thing with a double kick drum - I heard something about a Protest the Hero cover in their (I don't know enough about the band to ID whatever they did play as a finale). Some bass problems and a mid-set pee break by the singer did cut down on the momentum a bit, but at least one of their pals jumped on stage for some interpretive dacing.
Pressure Makes Diamonds at Zaphod Beeblebrox, February 4, 2010
Dallas Waldo is a rapper, making this one of the more peculiar triple bills I've seen. His backing comes from a wee MP3 player. I thought he sounded okay, but I was hankering to pop off to Mavericks and see One Hundred Dollars.
Dallas Waldo at Zaphod Beeblebrox, February 4, 2010
I've seen some of One Hundred Dollars before - the drummer, bassist and keyboardist come out of Jon-Rae and The River - but the creative key are Simone Fornow and Ian Russell. They do real-deal country on record. Live they're a somewhat noisier affair as pedal steel guitarist Stew Crookes uses a Gibson SG and volume pedal and isn't afraid to get some strange sounds out of his setup. I'm listening to their 2007 album
Forest of Tears, and let's just say they were closer to
Tirade of a Shitty Mom than the more acoustic stuff on it. It was a really great set and I'm now sincerely regretting not checking them out earlier (despite advice to the contrary from several corners).
One Hundred Dollars at Mavericks, February 4, 2010
As for Attack In Black, I posted about their last Mavericks set just a few days ago (man, that backlog) and once again they put on a super set. They also had some bass problems. "I've always felt bass shouldn't use effects" opined Daniel Romano after tossing the offending fuzz pedal aside.
Attack in Black at Mavericks, February 4, 2010
They called things to a close relatively early since they were feeling a bit bagged - believe me, I know the feeling ... zzzzzz.
