Index of Shows | Homepage | Upcoming Shows | Write to me
Most of this same bill was awesome at Harpers Ferry a few weeks ago, so I have very high hopes for this show. Humanwine do not disappoint me. They apparently had some equipment issues setting up for this show, so all the songs are electric guitar songs tonight. (Normally it's mostly acoustic, although with drums and bass and piano, it doesn't sound excessively "unplugged.") This sort of cranks up their energy a bit, it seems. The vocals aren't quite as audible as I might wish them to be in this mix; I can hear them quite clearly, but Holly's voice is so ethereally lovely that I would like them way out in front, if I got to pick. And I guess my only other complaint about their set is that it goes by too quickly. With all the changes in mood and tone, it doesn't get at all boring, and I want it to go on and on.
The Cautions are a bit of an odd match for the rest of tonight's bill, a much more straightforward and less arty outfit than the rest of the bands. (They compare themselves to The Cars, and cover one of their songs.) They have matching outfits: yellow bowling shirts with their band's name printed on them, which can't possibly be comfortable in this heat. They're a pretty strong, energetic indie-pop band, and I can enjoy them for their catchy tunes and tastefully sparing keyboard accents once I figure out that I should just take them at face value. The singer's voice is not really lovely, but I like his low-key stage presence, and I really like the last song, which combines spoken verses and a fairly catchy tune in the chorus to make good use of what he has.
Count Zero kinda ease us back into the arty and odd, by starting their set off with with the somewhat catchier, more accessible material from their beautiful new album. Then, as the set progresses, we get more of the freakshow stuff from their earlier albums. Tonight's set is characterized by no more technical difficulties than are typical for a Count Zero set: keyboard trouble on a song or two, and guitar trouble that takes Wil out for the first part of the last song. This latter is a real shame, but it makes it sound that much more powerful when he finally comes in on the second verse. And as a six-piece with a lot of odd instrumentation, they're used to this sort of thing, and it really doesn't seem to faze them.
The last time I saw Fluttr Effect (on nearly this same bill), I found something oddly off-putting about them. Which was odd, because I've seen and loved them a bunch of times. Maybe I was just in a bad mood; I enjoy tonight's set a lot more. I think also Kara is a lot calmer and more natural-seeming tonight; more between songs chat that sounds almost like something a person might say, and less within-songs antics that gets in the way of my enjoying the band. I come to the realization tonight that, for me (and this is really just for me), this band is the Vessela and Valerie show. (These are the phenomenal MIDI marimba and electric cello player, respectively.) To the extent that the rest of the band supports and contextualizes these two, I actively love them. When they get in the way, I get annoyed. I would be shocked to learn that either of them feel this way; this is just the way I experience the band.
