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First off, be aware that this review is for shit. I've been a twitchy mess all day, what with the election going on, and I spend about half the time I'm here either looking at returns on the projection screen or talking to Shari to try to keep my mind off the election. I'm a mess, and it takes away from my ability to pay attention to the bands, all of whom are very solid and deserve better. That said...
Rueben are a five-piece. They're very tight, very practiced, with no noticeable flaws. The singing is very good, and the keyboard player has a nice sax solo on the last song. Their music is a bit too safe, too Dave Matthews for me. I really try, but my attention keeps sliding off it. This is just a matter of taste, and in fact, they're liable to capture much broader attention than the sort of stuff I usually prefer. So I probably wouldn't change anything about this band except the person listening to them.
Tremulant are playing their first show ever. They start out very strong, with an appealing pop song with a clean, catchy guitar line. Some of their later songs sound a bit more jam-band-y, with an oddly soft, watery guitar sound, and I am less enthralled, but they impress me mightily just by being so together and well-rehearsed for their first show. There are a couple of covers, an REM song and one by U2, which are not their finest moments. But that's a fairly good sign in itself, if you think about it.
Aloud is the band I came to see. Their straight up, powerhouse Stones-y rock seems like the perfect thing in which to lose myself and shut off my head for 45 minutes. Nor am I disappointed; they are on fire tonight, and every new red state on the map seems to inspire a more frenetic howl from Jen. On several of their songs, she screams and wails like a woman possessed, and Henry has at least one of those himself. The rhythm section is as tight as I've heard them, with the bass line providing a nice counterpoint to the vocal melodies in several songs. And several of these tunes have become real favorites of mine, with beautiful stick-in-your-head melodies. The news at the end of the day is sad and saddening, but for 45 minutes, I am lost in raucous joy.
