went to RGRS to see B and BL and red monroe and MATAS. buddy joe showed up too.
first up was matthew and the arrogant sea and i loved em. totally down-tempish and folky and mellow, but with a twist and i loved the songs. one electric guitar, one acoustic, plus trombone (always like that) , plus dude on floor with gadgets. totally loved the sound, great vocals on lead, love the trombone and the effects, great songs, wouldve bot the cd but joe beat me to it. wnated to talk to the guys afterwards, but they seeem to have split right after. oh well - next time.
next up was george neal - not hte whole band, just him, i'm afraid. just one dude with his acoustic. very angry, he seemed sometimes. sorry, i didn't hear much of it - was too busy tryin to convince joe about my shorter-than-normal people theory about denton, of which there was ample evidence. he didnt seem to buy it, tho. i'm not sayin there's anythin wrong with that - short gals make me ho-ney, i'm just sayin it's weird, is all.
third was red monroe, and first i have to say that eric steele has the hottest fuckin girlfriend on the planet. saw her at the cavern last week too and thats enough about that. second i can say forget what i said last week - this was an awesome performance. how was it so different from teh cavern show i do not know, but it was. did they do more songs from cd #1? carolina cig, a return, and they closed with shotgun heart/fingertips, which just fuckin slayed me. lotsa people up front dancin like fools added to the atmosphere. twas awesome - definitely takin a liking to the newer stuff, too. some really great songs on that new cd. wanted to talk to eric afterwards, too, but he seemed to have gone the way of the MATAS guys - nowhere to be found.
last was bridges and blinking lights. man, they had some great songs. many people on the stage, upwards of 7 or so at some times, even a steel guitar or some shit at one point. fantastic songs, but i have one complaint - the lead vocals. either he was havin an off night, or the mix wasn't right, but every goddam song would start off great, then when he would come in it would just lay a turd. sort of a glen frey type voice - nice but softish or somethin. he seemed to be tryin to belt it out but nothin was comin out. again - fantastic songwriting and musicianship. had some overly-loud and obnoxious goddam friends in the audience that i was wantin to pelt with rocks and garbage, but hey thats not their fault. would definitely like to check out again to see if 1st impression is correctamundo, as fonzi would say.
overall, a very nice night. and only 5 bucks to boot.
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Last night, I attended another local music concert. This time it was the CD release party for the band Bridges and Blinking Lights w/ opening acts: Red Monroe, George Neal, and Matthew and the Arrogant Sea. The concert was at Rubber Gloves in Denton, TX, a "slightly" remodeled rehearsal studio. Driving by, you would never know this building was being used--it looks like an abandoned warehouse with the windows and doors boarded up (I'm not kidding). The only way I knew I found the correct place was b/c: it was the only building within 100 yards and the address matched. Let's face it, the place was a dump, but they had two very important requirements: 1) working restrooms and 2) beer.
I met up with Steve, the local music jedi and paid $5 cover (not a bad deal by any means). Opening up was:
Matthew and the Arrogant Sea: Their songs on Myspace came across as folk/ experimental with various voice sound effects throughout. I was a little uncertain about these guys at first, but they seemed to improve as the show progressed. The trombone player added an nice touch. Their music was mostly mellow and the various atmospheric sound effects reminded you of certain sections of Pink Floyds "Echoes". I really liked them and purchased their CD. I was utterly dissappointed to discover that at least 2 of the songs were live with very audible crowd noise and possibly recorded with a microcassette recorder (at least it sounded that way). Overall, it didn't capture the feel of the live show. I demand a refund.
George Neal: I'm afraid to say that I didn't preview his music on myspace. I'd have to say that I didn't miss much. He mostly played by just himself and his guitar. The poor guy sounded angry and his voice cracked whenever he made illadvised attempts to hit high notes--it was a nails-to-the-chalkboard moment. A dude came on the stage to sing background--his voice was clearly superior. Here's hoping Mr. Neal sounds better with his band.
During this show, I discussed with Steve his imaginary theory that people in Denton are shorter then anywhere else on the planet. And after pointing out several people in the audience, it was hard to disagree. Why is this? Well, i have a couple theories: 1) these shorter people became social outcasts over the years b/c of their height. They were treated like runts of the litter and rejected by society. Therefore, they didn't have anywhere else to go except for live music shows. or 2) These live music venues are mostly lower budget affairs and are supported by their fellow small businessman.
Red Monroe: these guys friggin' rocked. If you can get past the lead singer's voice, who's a combination of Joe Strummer and Johnny Rotten, then you've got a band with a serious groove to most of their songs. I just loved some of the bass player's riffs--he was clearly the most superior musician--the drummer wasn't bad, either. Their songs are also very Clash / Sex Pistols like--angst-ridden punk music offset with a touch of keyboards. There was a crowd of about 6 people in the front slam dancing the entire last half of the show. I wanted to join them, but didn't want the ol' pro to teach them some valuable lessons--plus a cute girl was invoved and I didn't want to give her a bloody nose. I do have a little complaint that a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer was spotted on one of their speakers--despite that obvious lack of class, I'd still give the guys a thumbs-up. Someone buy their CD so they can afford some real beer!
Bridges and Blinking Lights: ok, by this time it's close to 1 AM. My mental conherance at this time is less then my usual standards. I'd have to say these guys were very good--they certainly sounded polished--a slightly toned-down version of Red Monroe. Excellent musicianship and up to 7 people on stage at one time. I'd classify their sound as your typical-average indie rock. Their singer actually sang, unlike the RM dude, but his voice was very weak. Steve compared him to Glen Frey--not inaccurate. They sounded much better than their myspace studio songs, where they sounded underproduced and underrehearsed. I hope these were only demo versions of the songs which ended up on their CD.
Overall, it was another great night of local music in DFW. I'd have to say Rubber Gloves, despite the appearance, was an excellent place to watch live music. The sound was better-than average and the atmosphere reminded me of your old-school Deep Ellum live joint. They need more places like this.
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