Index of Shows | Homepage | Upcoming Shows | Write to me
I have come here tonight because Aloud are playing, and I want rockin', melodic songs delivered by two powerhouse singers. With that mindset, it's kind of hard to get into The Volume. The weak, wispy vocals are meandering and drenched in reverb. But it only takes a song or two to figure out that they are not the point of the band. This is much more contemplative, psychedelic music, easy to get lost in. (They do disclaim that, since it's a Sunday night and people are sitting down, they're playing their mellower material.) The rhythm section are strong and supple, keeping it interesting but not stealing focus from the guitar, which is the star here for me. The guitarist does magnificent things with effects, so that every song has its own succession of striking timbres to set off the beautifully weird guitar lines. There is also one song, late in the set, where all the instruments are very quiet and there's less reverb on the vocals. He's actually not a bad singer; it's just not the point.
Next are Aloud, and a radical change of mood. This band rocks, with magnificent tunes and serious vocal chops, and they get better every time I see them. Tonight they're damned near flawless. I happen to know that Jen is sick, and has been having trouble with her voice. But there's really no way to tell that from her performance; she's steady and confident in the quiet parts, and holds absolutely nothing back on the screaming/wailing high points. Henry is adept across an equal dynamic range--I love the big, growling loud parts, but my favorite song of theirs, "Hey Now," is a slower, quieter thing, with a verse that's basically two notes and still manages to be poignant and beautiful. The bass is a bit too dominant in the mix, so I miss a lot of the guitar work, but they're strong, pulsing rock bass lines with occasional flash, so it's not all bad. They try to end the set with "Late Last Night," a huge, honky-tonk wailer of the Old School, and Jen would obviously like to rest her throat after that, but the audience demands an encore, and they rip up a cover of "Baba O'Riley," acknowleding an obvious musical ancestor.
