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Shark Mountain are playing when I arrive, loud and fast and urgent. Their music has kind of a minimalist thing going on, but not as that word is normally understood. It's certainly not quiet or sparse at all. But there are no vocals on most of the songs, and the guitar seems to present one pattern and then repeat it many times before shifting to a slightly different pattern, etc. This sounds like it could be boring, but it keeps failing to be. Part of it is that the patterns are really good and interesting, and the rhythm section is driving and energetic. Odd, good stuff.
Codetta are more conventionally song-y. All the songs have vocals, for example, although some of them are shouted more than sung. The singing is good, and the guitar is simple and effective. The rhythms include a lot of interesting twelves and the drummer has some really stellar fills. Andrew, who booked this show, seems eager to get off stage to make more time for the other bands on the bill, which shows a lot of class.
Night Rally get a longish, rambling introduction from a drunken bartender, who activates some trippy lights before he finally leaves the stage. (He threatens to stay and sing, but fortunately it comes to naught.) As Night Rally shows go, this one actually seems a little scattershot. They maybe have trouble starting a song or two, and I can't hear Luke sing at all. This is nit-picking, really, as they are still fantastically tight by normal human standards, and maybe I'm just disoriented by the lights. They have a great new song, which they introduce as being the sequel to a previous one. And, as always, they have Devin, a freak of nature and a fascinating presence.
The Bon Savants also have a slightly sloppy set, by their standards. This is good, in a way; their songs are so pretty, and their normal guitar sound so chiming and atmospheric, that a little sand in the gears from time to time is not necessarily a bad thing. Makes it a bit more rock. Part of the problem (if it is a problem) comes when Kevin breaks a string and plays the rest of the set on a borrowed guitar, which has a somewhat beefier tone than he usually gets. I think the lighting is also throwing them for a bit of a loop; I know it's messing my shit up. The PA is not the greatest, and makes the backing vocals all but disappear. And it's just kind of a loose, sloppy sort of night. This does not prevent them from offering up gorgeous, engaging tunes, beautifully played and sung. It just all feels a bit loopy.
