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 For the second time in two weeks, I found myself pleasant surprised at a show full of local artists. While the overall turnout for the first every Sounds From Thee Underground event held in the U.S. was impressive, I was more concerned with noticing (once again) just how many other folks from the scene showed up to hang out in Ann Arbor. It’s always great to  see a large audience
at shows, but for some reason, it’s even cooler to me to see the
musicians around this area supporting each other at shows and
such. I was also a fan of the fact that so many band members
pulled ‘double-duty’ playing with more than one band during the course
of the night (Charlie Lorenzi, Claudia Leo, Chris Taylor and Melody
Licious are the four that strike me off the top of my head, and I
certainly hope I’m not forgetting anyone on that list).Admittedly, the Sounds From Thee Underground show suffered from some pacing problems – namely that the ‘host’ interaction esQuire and Queen Bee offered up between bands was a bit on the unprepared and lengthy side, which seemed to drag on the audience a bit by the end of the night. (‘Tis not a knock on either personality, both of whom generally delight me with just their mere presence; on this night, though, it seemed like things were a bit on the overblown side, that’s all) Despite the slight MC issues, though, the bands all brought the rock pretty strongly for the most part. I waltzed into the Pig in time to catch about four songs of Sissy’s set, which was  solid, if
unspectacular. I can’t say that I know a whole heck of a lot
about the band other than the fact that Chris Taylor plays bass and
fronts things vocally; I can say with certainty that Taylor looked
hilariously cool on stage for this set, with his slightly mussed hair
and just-a-bit-too-big aviator glasses. The music was pretty
straight-on barroom rock – no country twinges or 60’s twirls or
anything, just dead on guitar rock. The Hard Lessons hopped on stage next and basically blew the audience away with a tight set. It seemed like this trio had the largest crowd of the night packed in front of the stage, and for good reason, as The Hard Lessons stole the show. With The Anvil anchoring tight rhythms, Gin and Ko-Ko Louise took turns fronting an even mixture of old and new material. Admittedly, it seemed that the band’s best moments came during Gin’s various guitar solo tangents and Ko-Ko Louise’s hearty vocal displays (namely the band’s hyper-intense version of “Love Gone Cold”). How this band hasn’t completely blown up into the spotlight yet is way beyond my comprehension … I really didn’t know what the expect from Los Coronados, but I have to say that the  impression I
got from this show left me with the notion that if nothing else, the
band’s got potential. I feel a little odd, because I think I got
a different vibe off the band’s sound than I was supposed to get (a
majority of the band’s set gave me delusions of a collaboration between
The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Raveonettes). Los Coronados were
basic, but solid; Licious impressed me with her bass playing, and
Lorenzi showed some decent chops on the guitar as well, while Leo aptly
held down the band’s rhythms. Any band that ends a set with
two-minute guitar solo freak-out that sees both the bassist and the
guitarist playing behind their heads is pretty much OK with me. I’ve enjoyed the few Avatars sets I’ve seen in the past – usually as not much more than fun little toe-tapping, 60’s pop tinged experiences, though. As such, I really wasn’t expecting anything like the set thrown out here, because The Avatars sounded absolutely bombastic for this gig. Maybe it was just the contrast of hearing the band play after Coronados, but man, it seemed like the band shafted the 60’s intonations in favor of a big thick load of guitar rock. Mariah Cherem’s voice sounded more powerful and raspy than usual, while Lorenzi and Taylor’s guitars jangled together with a depth I hadn’t heard from  this band
before. Drummer Leo and bassist Theresa Kiefer were tighter than
I’d ever heard before, as well, and the effect of it all was one very
powerful set – easily the most impressive one I’ve seen. . I feel a little bad when it comes to The Sirens sometimes. In theory, the band is great – the idea of attractive girls in matching costumes playing an impressive set of rock covers goes above and beyond commendable and into the level of ‘total hotness.’ In practice, though, I think I’ve had the unlucky timing to see a few sloppy Sirens gigs. Still, I really can’t knock the band, because I did indeed have fun during this set, and having fun is the driving idea behind The Siren’s performances. Admittedly, rock-and-roll gets a bit raunchy at times, and a little drunken sloppiness is all part of the game at points as well. I just can’t stand in front of a stage and not have a blast when I’m singing along to Sweet’s “Fox on the Run,” or smiling while watching an excited local rocker standing next to me, singing along emphatically to Slade’s “Goodbye to Jane” and Nazareth’s “Hair of the Dog.” I had the chance to speak with a few performers after the show, and it seemed that all in all, most of the band folk were pretty happy with the strong turnout, as well as with the show as a whole - and I can’t say that I disagree with any of them one bit. - Gary Blackwell |
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