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I'd have liked to check out the first two bands, but I get here in time for Harris, which was my main goal. I love this band. Their live show tonight is more raw and ragged than they are recorded, which is okay. We get less emphasis on their nifty, catchy melodic side and more emphasis on their slashing guitars and rhythmic inventiveness. Many of their songs have multiple sections, with very different sounds and feels, for an excursive and continually interesting effect. After two songs from their EP, they play a whole lot of new stuff. It's good, and very much in the vein of their songs that I know, although I can't pick up the melodies so well, under the circumstances. They end with the same lovely gem that they closed with last time, with its wordless vocal chorus that just grabs you and won't let go.
Jupiter Sunrise are a very odd band. There's something very sweet and earnest about their music, even though they have a fairly butch sound. Think of a rock band playing folk songs. Their lead guitarist warms up with a lot of wank-metal riffage, but when they're actually playing songs, he puts those skills to use in much more tasteful and musical solos that fit beautifully into their songs. He also has a very smooth and powerful voice, sounding good on high falsetto harmonies and great when he sings lead. The rhythm guitarist plays a lot of acoustic. His voice is a little thinner, but works in a Weezer-geeky kind of way. They play one song completely acoustic, without even the PA, asking us all to quiet down so that we can hear, and miraculously, we mostly do. They also ask us to sit down, on the floor, at the Middle East, which is a nasty proposition, and that I will not do. But it's a pretty song, and they get a lot of people singing along. They seem to have a lot of fans here. They're a little lightweight, but very good, and I mostly love them, until the end: when they announce their last song, the sound guy tells them that if they play one more, they'll really cut into the last band's time. They seem to take this well, but then while playing one final chord and coda, the lead guitarist suddenly throws a big ol' tantrum, breaking a microphone and a mic stand. I understand feeling frustrated that you didn't get to play your last song, but breaking club equipment made me think less of them, will undoubtedly reduce the chances of their getting booked there again, and may have cost them getting paid for the evening. Was that really worth the satisfaction of the tantrum?
Furvis are up last. This is apparently their last show with this bassist. They are quite good, in a very straightforward way. I'm reminded of The Lemonheads, in that straight-up, pop rock simplicity. The rhythm section can be just a bit wobbly, but the guitars are very solid. The truth is, I'm tired, and they don't really grab me. They get more than three songs--there's really nothing actively bad about them--but we don't stay for the end.
