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.

8/1/09 - Nervous Curtains, Silk Stocking, True Widow

after a long dry spell (going on vacation, answering various booty calls and what-not (kidding!!)), i headed to hailey's for another gutterth show. was joined by Cherry Pie, who graciously agreed to accompany me so I wouldn't be the oldest person in the place. :)

True Widow started things out. I'd been looking forward to hearing them, what with all the good press they've received lately, but oh my gawd, was i disappointed. "Plodding" was the word that kept coming to my mind. CP's much-more-colorful description was "Molasses". Very one-note, repetitive, dreary, retro - a bit like Low on steroids. I guess that's what "slow-core" is supposed to be, but damn, i'd call it "bore-core" (nyuck). Kept waiting for the next song to impress me, or at least be different, but it never happened. Not sure what i'm missing...
Silk Stocking was up next. Not sure what happened here, either - saw them a while ago and really dug it, but i could swear their entire sound has been revamped. I couldn't take it - seemed like there was a concerted effort to make every song as difficult to listen to as possible. Mercifully, it was a short set.
thanks be to gawd that Nervous Curtains was there to save the evening, along with my music-picking reputation in CP's eyes. Sean, Ian and Robert once again impressed with their amazing combination of piano, synths, and drums. Absolutely loved the new one, All Yesterday's Parties (now playing on their myspace page), which Sean described as "Scott Walker meets Phil Spector", while CP insisted it was a tango. Once again - really loved Robert's drumwork. Sean says their CD will be coming out in 6 months or so - can't wait for that. really hope it gets the kind of attention it deserves. anyways - a great set, as usual.
yea, The Great Tyrant was up after that, but the approximately 20 seconds i heard of their set a few months ago was enough to last me a lifetime, so we split.