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I arrive just as Protokoll are going on, which really hadn't been my goal, based on what I'd heard about them. As I suspected, they are really not to my taste. They seem quite solid, but their urgently shouted vocals, simplistic dance beats, and very synthy keyboard lines just aren't what I want to hear. So I sort of avoid their set, and move down front to check out Summer Lawns. They are a tuneful, extremely gentle band from New York. The singer reminds me a bit of Coldplay, actually, but it's even softer, more atmospherically melodic stuff than that. They have a cellist, but I can't hear almost anything she does. Great Scott generally has the best sound of any club in Boston, but there's a brand new sound guy tonight, and he doesn't seem able to get us any audible cello.
Really, though, I'm here to see The Bon Savants. They have achieved an unstoppable greatness lately where their beautiful, outrageously catchy pop songs and smooth, amazing vocals are complemented by some really sharp, attention-grabbing guitar (still kind of shimmery, but no longer a blurry wash), powerful bass lines, and dynamite drumming. The drummer is willing to take a whole lot of risks, and while that does mean getting lost in the occasional fill, it also means that most of the fills are brilliant and captivating. We get a bunch of new songs tonight. Tom is a bit disappointed that we don't hear "Alarms," but they're supposed to be almost finished recording a double album, so they've got a lot of material to showcase; you can't expect to hear all the hits at every show. As long as I get to hear "Post Rock Defends the Nation," I'm a happy man.
