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Saturday night at Casselmans' Bar and Venue, local act John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light pulled out all the stops for the highly publicized release of their CD, Beautiful Empty.
The evening-long event was a celebration of the creative arts. Along with two opening acts, four short films were showcased by independent filmmakers based on tracks from the record, plus a box art display from local artists. Ticket-holders to the event received a copy of the CD plus their first drink free--overall a well-thought-out and well-planned concept for a release party.
Singer/songwriter Danielle Ate the Sandwich opened the show, entertaining the crowd for 45 minutes in her typical fun, tongue-in-cheek fashion. Atmospheric rock/funk combo Achille Lauro, however, had a set plagued with problems, most of them not their fault. After some serious feedback issues with the first song, the vocalists' mikes were turned way down, and most of the room couldn't hear a thing they were saying or singing. Meanwhile, the conversation volume in the room continued to rise as the liquor kept flowing, and except for a few people off to the side, the audience seemed to become regrettably indifferent to the band.
The attention of the room, however, was gathered back as John Common and Blinding Flashes of Light took the stage at 11:00. Beautiful Empty is largely an acoustic-based, downtempo record compared to Common's previous offerings, but that did not stop the energy or passion contained in the live performance. Tight vocals and strong, creative arrangements (including two violinists, two cellists, keys/organ, drums, bass and acoustic guitar) made for a well-executed performance that was both professional and passionate. It was obvious the band came well-prepared, and it paid off.
The only real downside to the party was that it dragged on in the middle, which could easily have been remedied by either fixing the sound problems with Achille Lauro or making the opening sets a little shorter, or both. However, Common and his band redeemed the evening with a strong performance. With all the publicity and buildup surrounding this event, John Common and Blinding Flashes of light rose to the occasion and didn't disappoint.
For more on John Common visit: The Oomph Music Blog.
Comments
If the opener, and the headliner sounded good, then I am guessing that it wasn't the venue's fault if there were sound issues with the middle band.
What is Atmospheric Rock? I assume that it's sort of music that is supposed to make the atmosphere that you're in cool- not really built around songs, lyrics, meoldy, etc., but rather sound, noise, and wearing really tight white jeans.
I'm guessing the band sucks.
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