4/1/10 - B&BL, Andrew Tinker, Hendrick, Criminal Shift

The Local Edge's Battle of the Bands Finals at Trees. Winner to open Edgefest (meaning they play at 1:30PM to a crowd of 7, but hey...)

Criminal Shift (Plano). Caught these kids a couple years ago and was blown away, and haven't been able to catch them again til now. Seems like the line-up has completely changed, except for Douglas (lead vocals, lead guitar). No more female keyboard player (in fact, no keys at all), now it's just 3 dudes wif guitars plus drums. Once again, I was really impressed by their sound. Very advanced and polished for a band full of youngsters who apparently rehearse in their mom's (nicely appointed, i should say) spare bedroom (see their myspace ;). Some really cool hard-drivin' rock material, definitely more rockin' than the last time i saw 'em. Was especially impressed by Douglas (like last time), who can really howl and belt it out, and also wail on guitar. He's quite the showman, too - very high energy and engaging. Drummer was awesome, too. Other two dudes sounded great, but looked slightly uncomfortable in front of a big crowd. Really enjoyed the set. Check 'em out.

Hendrick. Sure, sure - some very pleasant & polished indie guitar/piano pop, but when did Hendrick get so sensitive? I've never been a huge fan of theirs, but they seemed overly pussified that night. My (female) companion said he (the lead) could get away with it if he was hot...

Andrew Tinker (Denton). Ugh. Did not enjoy this at all. Can't understand how this made it to the finals. Good-timey bluesy piano tunes that suburbanites in Frisco would enjoy whilst supping at an Outback restaurant.

Bridges and Blinking Lights. My kryptonite. Said it many times - awesome music, but vocals of a 13-year-old girl. With strep. Thought they had figured that out when, during the first song, another guitar player sang along with jake, and i'll be damned if you could actually hear the vocals, but no - after a couple songs, he was mostly done, and it was back to straining to hear donald duck.

Really wanted to see Ishi again, cuz they are a riot, but mi companion was snoring so loudly it was interfering with the sound check, so we split.

9/7/08 - Look Mexico, Bear Colony, Criminal Shift

since saturday night turned out to be such a cluster (see below), and being as how it was sunday and all, i headed to church.

psych! it was only the prophet bar (i did read a verse written on one of the photos on the wall - does that count?). wanted to catch Bear Colony, who i'd really dug last February.

praise jeebus - one of the nice things aboot the prophet bar (in addition to a fantastic sound system) - they start shows (relatively) early - 8:00 in this case. vury nice, for us 9-5 workin folk. one of the bad things? $4.50 for a well. bastards.

another great thing, at least sunday night, was the between-set music. turns out it was the (smokin hot) bartender's ipod, and she has fantastic taste. will definitely be checking out dresden dolls.

first up was Criminal Shift, from Plano (represent!). i know, i know - you hear plano, and you see how old they are (juniors in high school!), and you expect whiny emo garbage, but these guys weren't like that at all. i was floored by what i heard. 4-man band: guitar, bass, keys, drums. dude on lead had powerful, at-times howling voice, not at all what you'd expect coming from a high school junior who seems to be going for the whole harry potter look (including a lightning bolt on his guitar strap). very nice harmonies from the keyboard player (you know i love that). thundering bass. very sophisticated songs for their age. some really fantastic high-energy, very-well executed indie pop. loved it. one slight problem - they opened with a cover of "Hey Ya" by Outkast, and I damn near walked outside to wait til their set was over. very glad i didn't. definitely want to catch them again.

Bear Colony, from Arkansas, was next. saw these guys in february (review here) and absolutely loved it, and sunday night confirmed that opinion. 5-man band, including two drummers (MATAS-style), which was awesome. unbelievably powerful, emotional, wall-of-sound, anthemic guitar pop. right in my wheelhouse. i was in heaven. didn't want the set to end. please check out this band if you get the chance.

next up was Look Mexico, and they was aight. similar in style to Bear Colony, but their sound just didn't resonate with me. lead wore strangely-creepy 70's-style wife beater and was goin for the grizzly adams look. whole band sat down on floor at one point during a song. not sure why - seemed a bit contrived. definitely a talented band, just didn't connect with me (it's hard to splain these things).

headlining was Luminate, and if you think i'm gonna hang around to listen to a goddam praise band, most of whom seemed to be wearing vests (never a good sign), you haven't been paying attention.