1/21/10 - True Widow, Flashbulb Fires, River Mouth, Smoke and Feathers

...Thursday night at The Boiler Room.


First time ever at TBR. Really liked it. Great sound, great drink specials ($3 double wells?? Dear sweet baby jeezus, give me strength!).


First up was Smoke and Feathers (Austin). Totally blown away by these guys. 4-man band playing kick-yer-ass southern-style psychedelic rock. Not usually my thing, but they converted me. Thought the theremin was a nice touch. Enough hair on stage to outfit an entire cancer ward (whoa, that was kinda dark, wasn't it?). Anyways, really enjoyed the set, which was entirely too short (not sure what the sound guy was thinkin, only giving them 20 minutes. Just start earlier, for chrissakes. It ain't rocket science). Next up was The River Mouth (Denton). Very similar to Smoke and Feathers - dark, dingy, rockin', theremin-inclusive. Just a notch down from S&F, but I enjoyed them as well. Vocals not quite as strong as S&Fs either, but servicable.

Flashbulb Fires (Denver) was up next. Some very nice anthemic-style piano pop. Didn't really fit on this bill, though - their sensitive musings and laid-back style was a bit of a come-down after having your ass kicked for the previous two sets, and the crowd seemed to lose interest. As part of a more fitting line-up, though, i'm sure they would shine. I enjoyed it, anyways.

True Widow headlined. Saw these guys once before, and was nearly put into a coma. I listened to two songs Thursday night, felt my life force dwindling rapidly, and split before it was too late.

1/16/10 - RTB2, PVC Street Gang, Luna Matto, Come On Go With Us

...Saturday night at Hailey's.

Come On Go With Us (Mississippi) started things off. Absolutely loved these guys. Beautifully written southern-tinged piano pop. Awesome keyboard playing, even awesomer guitar playing. Loved the multi-part harmonies. Very Campaign-like, which is high praise indeed. Lead wore the stereotypical piano-player hat and skinny tie - always a giggle. Unfortunately, they were sold out of their full-length, so i bought the demo. Luna Matto was up next. Seven folks on stage. Very pleasant, laid-back, multi-layered acoustic pop tunes. Enjoyed it.

PVC Street Gang was next. Some pretty entertaining, straight-ahead, aggressive, screamy punk. Not exactly my thing, but they were definitely good at what they were doin.

RTB2 was up last. Loved it, as usual. Thanks be to gawd they didn't play their "slow set" like the last time i saw them. Saturday night's set was back to the usual ass-kicking, blistering, soulful, bluesy stuff i fell in love with all the previous times. One complaint - it seems like Hailey's is determined to always start the first band at 10, even if there's four on the bill. Which means the headliner gets cut short, cuz of the 2AM deadline. It definitely seemed to me like RTB2's set was shorter than usual. Just don't understand the thinking there.