Last week, the rock and the roll - or permutations thereof - were happening on back-to-back nights, and I made it out to both.
The Kyle Sowashes hail from Columbus, Ohio, fronted by the band's namesake (that's him in the two photos below). In some ways they're keeping an Ohio tradition alive by cranking out anthemic power chord music with a lyrical sensibility that is both reflective and humorous at the same time. It reminds me the things I like about bygone bands like Great Plains, who managed to filter a post-punk literate sensibility with a straightforward rock delivery.
I can also see why Kyle Sowash and Karl Hendricks appreciated each other - their lyrical matter is drawn from a similar observance of people and things around them. Yet while Hendricks often took a literary angle with his songwriting, Sowash is content to turn what feels like regular conversations into song lyrics. Hence he comes with titles like "I'm Sorry, But We've Done Everything We Can At this Point" and "It Really Doesn't Matter What You Think," both of which kick off the latest Kyle Sowashes' album Start Making Sense, which has a cover that either tips the hat or thumbs its nose at the source material.
The KSs shared a bill at the Spirit Lodge with locals Red Star Sky and the Zells, getting the Coveted Second Slot on the bill, which is nice for a Thursday night show. Red Star Sky has moved away a bit from the alt-country sound that could be felt in their early shows, to a bigger, dramatic sound that relies heavily on frontman Corey Layman's guitar work, which is now has a strong foil in Pittsburgh veteran guitarist Alexei Plotnicov.
If the Kyle Sowashes take a light-hearted approach to the lyrics, their focus on the music is anything but light. "I Guess I'm Still Weird About It" launched the set with stop-start pair of ringing chords and from there, the energy never ceased. The band segued the early part of the the set together, an admirable task, still leaving room for intros and wisecracks. The Zells proved a good followup to Kyle and the gang, with their own batch of catchy indie pop, bolstered by a three-guitar attack that never got heavy and a set that, as always with them, drew on songs by several members of the band.
*
On Friday night, Juanita and Juan set up shop at the Government Center, The name comes from the third verse of Eno's "Baby's On Fire" and also from the Hispanic origins of the two performers, punk rock legends known as Alice Bag and Kid Congo Powers. Their previous work with the Bags and the Cramps, respectively, leaned more towards punk rock and psychobilly. But Juanita and Juan came off more like a lounge act, in the best way. Alice's keyboards had kind of smooth feel and her partner in crime had a drum machine setting the tempos. Their casual conversation onstage with the audience drew on the wild adventures of their youth.
That same sense of the past crept into songs like "The Prez," Kid Congo's hilarious and charming tale of being the West Coast president of the Ramones fan club; and "DBWMGWD," Alice's reflection of being saved from the perils of adolescence by a certain British performer. (The initial abbreviate "David Bowie Was My Gateway Drug.")
Before and after the show, both of them mingled with the audience of long time fans, posing for photos, signing books (like mine!) and generally carrying on that same spirit of enthusiasm that inspired them back in the early Hollywood days. On my way out, I tapped Kid Congo and told him that, back in high school when I was listening to the Cramps, I never would have guessed that he was such a ham. And we laughed.
Special mention should also go to openers Clickbait, who got the evening started with some taut, groovy punk rock that reminded me of bands like Gang of Four, ESG and PiL. Vocalist Sandra Yau was a strong presence onstage, banging on a cymbal to kick off "For Sale," singing through an old telephone for a few songs and crashing the hand-held cymbals on a few songs. I tried to get a good shot of her with the cymbals but she was too fast for me.
Bassist Jen Lemasters really held the sound down with some steady, groovy bass lines. Guitarist Ralph Darden (aka DJ Major Taylor) was a fill-in for their regular guitarist but his sharp, biting string work sounded like he'd been with the band since the beginning. Just to prove this is a small world, the guitarist listed online as mthe regular string slasher of the band, Kelsey Henke, not only used to live in Pittsburgh, but worked at the same place I did for a few years. Funny how these things work.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment