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Tonight I like Shore Leave about eight times more than the last time I saw them, and they weren't bad then. The first song is all instrumental, with lots of delicate, chiming guitar figures and the bass line played on keyboards. As the set progresses, they use this formula a lot, with vocals added sparingly, mostly for emphasis, and the two guitars winding around each other in a way that's really pretty and captivating. The rhythms are ambitious, and the new one, as yet untitled, is a big, challenging, proggy masterpiece that has me grinning and dancing.
Lady of Spain are debuting several new songs tonight, so I get to marvel anew at the rich, subtle menace of their sound. Anna's alternately fierce and vulnerable vocals, and the dark, brooding chords and guitar lines, add up to a powerful and coherent mood. Tim's lovely singing voice and Charles' driving bass keep it from getting mopey. Late in the set, they encounter some smell-of-burning-insulation-grade technical difficulties, and it just emphasizes for me how deep their arrangements are: Tim's amp can cut out completely, and they still have a very full sound. Then, when he comes back in, it's even better, all layers and texture.
Clickers like to structure their shows in classic jam band style, eschewing set lists and casting around until they settle into a song. That's the end of their similarities to a classic jam band, though, since their jams are weird, spiky, effects-heavy things, and the songs themselves even more so. They're light on melody, and rarely use anything as straightforward as a verse and a chorus. Instead we get a lot of abstract shouting, often with sung responses, a whole lot of precision rhythm breaks and sudden shifts, and some crazy-virtuoso guitar lines that interact in ways that seem intentional but are hard to get my head around. It's tricky stuff, and not for the faint of heart, but all presented with tremendous skill.
Finally, The Bon Savants shore up the melodic side of this oddly but satisfyingly balanced night. Their songs are catchy and gorgeous, built primarily around Thom's beautiful singing voice, their amazing knack for a melody line, and a lovely, comforting wash of shimmery guitars. There's also some impressive slide work that manages to not sound the least bit country. They have a new (temporary) drummer, Farhad from Night Rally, and he does a very impressive and entirely convincing job. There are some monitor complaints, but from out in the audience, everything sounds great; it's probably the best mix I've ever heard for them. And the songs are so great, they practically play themselves.
