Not that I'm complaining. In fact I know Noise Pop 2010 featured many women this year, from the San Francisco all-female chorus Conspiracy of Venus to Yoko Ono and the Watson Twins; I just happened upon a night that was very manly: Tempo No Tempo, Bear Hands, The Lonely Forest and We Were Promised Jetpacks. Usually I can be very hard on the indie rock boys and their guitars, but I rather enjoyed this music of funky boy bands.
All of four of the bands that played were new to me. I had heard of local band Tempo No Tempo and headlining band We Were Promised Jetpacks had caught my notice just because the name is so awesome. (Can I call my next band, You Said You Said You Were Going to Wear Polka Dots?)
All of these bands are on tour in the United States right now and headed to South by Southwest in Austin, so listen up!
All of these gorgeous photos were taken by Anna Gazdowicz courtesy of the Bay Bridged
The night started off with local band Tempo No Tempo a band I'd been wanting to hear for awhile. Sounding like a sparser, harder rocking Bright Eyes, I'm looking forward to seeing a longer set in the future when they'll get more time to play.
Tempo No Tempo: photo by Anna Gazdowicz of the Bay Bridged
Coming on second was Bear Hands from Brooklyn, a band that the guy in the Noise Pop press office told me to look out for earlier in the day when I picked up my pass. With a little more of a hippie, raver vibe, these guys brought in a funky vibe, also sounding a little bit like Conner Oberst. (indie! So indie!)
Bear Hands: photo by Anna Gazdowicz of the Bay Bridged
My favorite find of the night was The Lonely Forest from Anacortes, Washington. I guess Free Willy was filmed there. Out of curiosity I looked up where this town is and it's between Seattle and the Canadian border surrounded by water. Just though you should know. This band had the biggest sound of the evening probably due to the addition of lead singers' John Van Deusen piano. This is the "indie sound" at it's best. The song "We Sing in Time," including the lyric that is also the name of their album We Sing the Body Electric is pop friendly, a song that I would expect to earn radio play.
The Lonely Forest: photo by Anna Gazdowicz of the Bay Bridged
The night wrapped up with We Were Promised Jetpacks, hailing from my favorite city on earth: Edinburgh, Scotland. I had been wondering if the slowly growing audience was awake all night, but when these guys came on stage, they were definitely awake. I am also certain that having a refrain that consists of "Oohs," "Aahs" instead of words is the way to go as the song "Quiet Little Voices" exemplified. Even I was singing along by the end and I had never heard the song before. I think for the most part, We Were Promised Jetpacks are worth the hype. It also helps if you have a thick Scottish brogue when you sing as Adam Thompson does. It's pretty adorable.
We Were Promised Jetpacks9: photo by Anna Gazdowicz of the Bay Bridged
So if you missed the show last Saturday at Slim's, you don't live in the Bay Area or you're looking for some fun bands to check out at South by Southwest, these four band of boys will not let you down.
For more info, touring schedule and South by Southwest gigs click on the links:
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