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With many options of a Saturday night, we turned our attention to the nearby and went to TT's, since we were right around the corner. I am on Aberdeen City's mailing list, and thus had received email about this show; oddly enough, all I could remember about this band was a very vague recollection of having seen them and liked them enough to get on their mailing list and possibly see them again. First up, when we arrived, were Western Key, from Austin, TX. I quite liked this band. They had a female drummer, and she was quite good, which always makes me happy, since I labor under a shameful predjudice against female drummers. I really hate that I think that, and every time I'm proven wrong it makes me inordinately happy. Their lead singer had that earnest, slightly geeky (not at all in a bad way) vibe that I've come to associate with Austin. It made for a charming set. They had good songs, my only complaint being that almost none of them had endings. They would just suddenly stop, and time after time I had a momentary sense of "Why did they stop? That was a good song!" In fact, just one of the songs did have a proper ending, and it came late in the set, and people started applauding as he paused before going into the coda, then had to stop to hear the coda, and then after that we were afraid to applaud any of the songs, out of confusion about whether they were done or not. Which is unfair, since they were good songs. I feel bad urging a songwriter to be more conventional in his structures, but we have these conventions for a reason. (One of the songs seemed to segue seemlessly from tuning into playing, so that at first I didn't realize that the song had started, earning it the distinction of being perhaps the only song I've ever heard with neither a beginning nor an ending!)
Next up were Zykos, also from Austin and in fact sharing about half the lineup. Both bands had the same bassist, and the guy who did lead guitar and backing vocals in Western Key was rhythm guitar and lead vocals in Zykos. He did not have the loveliest voice I've ever heard--it was a little bit whiny and nasal--but I've certainly heard much, much worse, and he was cute, which always helps. And they also had good songwriting, and a really killer keyboard player. She played these awesome, rockin' keyboard parts (with a piano patch, and I think I've decided that you should just get a synthesizer that has a good piano sound, set it to sound like a piano, and leave it the fuck alone) and sang great backup. I was impressed with the energy that the bassist and lead singer had at the end of their second strong set of the evening. Good job, guys!
Aberdeen City headlined, and now I remember them. Their lead singer is that relative rarity in Boston rock, the musician who seems to like singing and to take the job seriously. Okay, lots of people do, but lots of bands also seem to have someone singing because it seems like they're supposed to, while the guitars are the point. This band does not lack good guitar work, but the vocals were mixed high and the singer was really wailing. He really was wailing, and it would be better if he had other vocal timbres available to him to mix it up a bit, but it's a good voice and a small complaint. One of the guitarists played more lead and was very flashy and dramatic, and quite good, but I think I actually preferred the other one: a shortish, quiet-seeming guy, he sort of hid in the corner and occasionally threw in something really brilliant. He also played good keyboards on a few songs, again with a piano patch. Overall, I would say that there's usually one person in the band who's doing something really interesting at any given time, and my attention would sort of wander around the band focusing on this or that. This is not a great band, but it's a very good one.
