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Polski Fiat are a three-piece, with drums, guitar, and bass, although there's also a cheesy keyboard part playing as I walk in. I tend to disapprove of playing to backing tracks--this is why we have the expression "live music"--but the Invisible Keyboardist only plays on a few of their songs. This band are more weird than good, but they could be quite good and still have that be the case. They're pretty good. The strings are the best part: bouncy, intricate bass lines and fascinating, crunchy guitar figures. The drummer's a bit inaccurate, which is sort of shocking when he's playing along to headphones, and their voices are not great. At best, the guitarist's singing reminds me a bit of Scott Miller. Or John Linnell. Both of whom I like, but not for their voices. They switch off for a while and the bassist sings, and he's so frankly awful that it's better; more surreal vocal art than singing, as such. One song has cute, geeky lyrics about being stuck in lab late, to which I can relate.
Steel Ponies are an all-female three-piece, in some of the most comfortable shoes I've ever seen on stage. This is not speculation; they make no secret of the fact that they like the ladies, and even if they tried to, their audience would give them away. I love lesbians, and I want desperately to like them, but it's just not happening. The guitar and bass are fine, but don't really do anything interesting. The singing is good, but the songs themselves are kind of bland, mid-tempo 'BOS fare, even when they're about sex toys. And the drummer is just really, really bad, frequently messing up the simplest patterns and absolutely unable to keep a steady beat. I need good, or at least decent, drumming to enjoy a band. Their audience does not, apparently, whooping joyously after every song and screaming for an encore at the end.
Night Rally could have my grateful allegiance just by playing in rhythm. In fact, their rhythm section is excellent, with freaky, complicated drum patterns and bass lines and lots of stops, starts, and sudden turns. The guitarist plays a lot of odd, effects-laden, repetitive guitar lines which don't really hold my interest by themselves, but make a great backdrop for the bizarre vocals. All three band members sing, and together they make one great vocalist. The drummer has a rich baritone, which would get too smooth after a while, but the bassist provides semi-spoken declamations and the guitarist handles Devo/Pere Ubu-style wack-job screaming, ironic falsetto, and stage presence. In one song, he leaves the stage and inexplicably sings a chorus into one of Steel Ponies' cymbals. It works for me.
Addendum: Steel Ponies don't much like this review, as you might imagine, and would like it known that this was their first gig ever.
