rock and roll part n
Charles, Jon, Karl and I caught two bands at the Galaxy Hut on Saturday. Since there's no thread over at HaH for me to cause trouble in, I figured I might as well write it up here.
A trio named the Rachel Nevadas opened things up. My initial impression was that they sounded like early Wilco at their most directionless and rocking. That's meant as a compliment. Then came a song with the energy and percussive melody of Ted Leo. And then the available beer began to outpace my desire to come up with comparisons.
These guys can write songs that sound different from one another, they can play well and with energy, and they can make you bob your head. But they can't sing. Lead vocalist Prabir Mehta has an acceptable if mediocre rock & roll range, but he wanders around the notes; bass player Chris Freeman sings occasional backup, but he doesn't sound like a plausible solution to the problem. These guys are definitely worth seeing -- I think all four of us agreed on that. It could have been an off night for Prabir, or it could be that some instruction will pin down those notes. It could also be that I'm blowing the badness of the singing out of proportion, as I was sitting directly under the PA used to pipe out the vocals at an unpleasantly high volume.
I'm a lot more confident in my opinion of the Hurricane Lamps. I've been wanting to see these guys since reading this enthusiastic review on Pitchfork. Unfortunately, the live experience didn't live up Pitchfork's no doubt highly scientific 7.4 rating. Ridiculously pinched vocals and uninteresting songs had our table tuning out halfway through the set. I was ready to like these guys. Oh well.
What's wrong with DC vocalists anyway? I'm no expert on the local music scene, but it seems primarily composed of lackluster singers and post-punk operations that get away with slightly melodic yelling or lilting narration. The last genuinely interesting local rock singer I saw was Martin from WSC. He's no Jeff Buckley, but he can hit a note, has an interesting timbre, and seems well on his way to developing a classically debauched and androgenous rock & roll stage persona. Is that asking too much?
UPDATE: HeresAHint has put up a review after all. I'll agree that the RNs' harmonies were well-written -- they weren't very well executed, is all.
Man. No American Idol for me this year.
Comments
Regardless, the Lamps have a great band name. --s
You're right. we used to have all kinds of singers, back when ska was king around here. The Pietasters are still around, and whoever is currently singing for them (the lineup keeps changing is pretty good). The girl from The Checkered Cabs was awesome, and then there was Melissa Ferris (of Tuscadero), who will always kick ass. If you're willing to allow Baltimore people, Dave Hill (Colouring Lesson, Fidel, etc.) is good, as are Mary Prankster and Val Yumm.
I believe the only consistent member of The Pietasters IS the lead singer, Steve Jackson. His weight has flucuated over the years, as have his outfits and microphones, so it could have put you off.
Perhaps the beer was affecting me at the hut, too, but I thought the singing in Rachel Nevadas was great. I mean, the dude is no opera singer, but if he's only singing 5 notes, that's a songwriting foul, not a singing one. Presumably, they play to their strengths and hide their weaknesses.
I always found Vivion (Juniper Lane) to have an incredible voice (I believe she was in attendance on Sat). Morrigan from Waking State has a very powerful voice, and the dude from Pallino as well seems quite talented. But, maybe I've just been to so many other shows with shit vocalists than anyone who's audible and in-tune seems like a star. I dunno, but I've seen plenty of national acts who couldn't hit their notes, too.
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