Great show last night at Anthology. Three solid bands; all could have been headliners in my book.
The nice thing about Anthology is you can relax, enjoy some good food and hear some great music with a minimum of hassles or waiting. The first band (who weren't even on the advertised bill) actually started well before the sun went down and they were really, really good.
HoneyChild is out promoting their hot-off-the-presses CD, "Nearer the Earth," and they came very close to playing the entire thing. They had a full stage including a banjo player and a harmonica player, and they warmed up the crowd with their lively folk rock before everyone even took their seats. This is a band to watch; I think you'll be hearing a lot from them in the near future.
After a short break, Alpha Rev took the stage and they were equally impressive. They're from Austin and they play some interesting, trippy indie rock featuring a high-tech cello and an amazing violin/fiddle player. You can hear the title track off their latest CD, "New Morning," on KPRI.
After the first two bands, I was expecting a lot of bodies on stage with One eskimO, but the British quartet somehow build their full, multi-layered sound economically. The bass player (Jamie Sefton) doubles as the flugelhorn player (sometimes at the same time) and the drummer (Adam Falkner) had a unique set-up including a cajon, chimes, an electronic sample pad, and a "stompourine." Peter Rinaldi plays guitar and Kristian Leontiou is the band leader and vocalist. All together, they create a very unique, atmospheric, tribal effect with pure, silky vocals.
They put together an entire animated "visual album" called "The Adventures of One eskimO" and they played parts of it on the enormous video screen behind the band. It was the perfect backdrop to immerse the crowd in the music, but I was kind of glad they didn't play out the entire story with all the songs and all the videos; I think it would have been a little distracting from actually watching the guys perform. Their biggest hit is the near perfect "Kandi," and it features sampling from Candi Staton's "He Called Me Baby" (and it's nearly impossible to get out of your head). Another familiar song is "Hometown," which was used in a Toyota Prius commercial last year.
If all that makes them sound mainstream, it's not intentional. They did play to a full house and they're getting a lot of buzz lately, but they still seem comfortable with an indie label.
Comments