Ah, to feel young again. Any time that I am blessed with the strength to rally on a Tuesday night, I am stoked. Especially when the real treat is a couple of hot bands from Nashville, TN making their way through San Jose winning over fans one orchestrated note at a time. This is a simple description of what was bestowed upon my eardrums on last Tuesday.
Diarrhea Planet are an onslaught of guitars. A true orchestra in every sense of the word. A rhythmic based band built on simplistic tunes that show their true colors in a live performance setting. Yes, there is noodling. But is done well and doesn't take center stage. Whenever you get 28 strings all up on one stage...that could equal a lot of "ego" strapped around 5 dudes necks. In other words, upon first appearance you go, "this could either be really good or really bad". It was awesome. They have worked through their material for the live show and come across textured and full of energy. No wanking here. Plus, you can tell that they truly love playing together. It really shows that they are up there to have fun. They blistered through a 45 minute set winnings over the locals. I told myself there was no way I could buy a shirt that says, "Diarrhea Planet". But song by song they won me over and adding money to their commission on the sales job they laid forth. Good job Lads!
Next up was the headliner, Jeff the Brotherhood. These guys have been getting a lot of attention lately in the underground music world. And rightly so. They have worked hard at their craft. Youtube them. It shows in their live performances that they have played together for a long time. Hell, they are brothers by birth. Tuesday night they came out guns a blazin' with stage theatrics and a whole routine. My only complaint would be they seemed to run out of steam for a midweek non-premium city show. It is a lot of hard work touring around the countryside trying to spread the word of your own creative forces. And being a two man outfit (minimized by the fact that the guitar only has 3 strings on it) you don't get much support from the outside world when needed. Comparing it to DP, one guy can have an off night and nobody in the crowd may notice. In JTB, if one guy has an off night, the set is fucked. Well, maybe that is a little strong, because they still were a treat to see live. And they finished really strong. However, compared to DP, who had the energy of a mid-level manager
after a two-week Hawaiian vacation, it'd seemed that JTB went a little flat about half way through. Flat or not, thank you both bands for making your way through San Jose. Music fans around here really appreciate it. And you can tell it is working. My favorite line of the night from JTB, "Hey is that one guy who was the only person in the audience the last time we played here in the crowd tonight?" The joint will be full next time, JTB.
No comments:
Post a Comment