I might actually be able to dub this my favorite b-sides ever, which is odd because those stories generally involve dancing. For this one, I sat down and had my mind blown... repeatedly. The first thing I noticed on arrival was the unusual setup-two drum kits at the front of the stage, backed by two keyboards and a wall of gear. When the show began, that wall of gear produced an enormous wall of sound to match. That "wall of sound" approach has been tried by hundreds of bands since Phil Spector created it in the 60s, with mixed results. The compelling difference with Grandchildren is their authenticity. In a band playing two of the hippest styles in music right now-polyrhythmic and psych/folk-at the same time, one might expect a hint of tongue-in-cheek pandering, but there is none here. Aleks Martray and friends play completely in earnest; they love this music.Each member is a multi-instrumentalist, contributing to the everything-including-the-kitchen-sink approach they seem to take to songwriting. Trombone, trumpet, vocoder, and electronic samples of various kinds all make their way into the percussion-heavy mix of more ordinary drums, guitar, bass, keys, and vocals. Pouring their passion into so many instruments, the band and their audience are rewarded with sweat and a sound so enthralling that my friends and I had to take time to digest before enthusiastically gushing over the band and purchasing merch. Apparently these are some of the guys behind DIY venue Danger Danger Gallery in West Philly, so I look forward to seeing them around when I move back in the fall. I might even make it down for their show at Kung Fu Necktie April 14th.
I missed Jarrod Gorbel, the first b-sides of the semester, because of a house meeting at my new residence in Harrisburg. Apparently Alex Brubaker did not deign to cover the show, so suffice to say that he is the frontman from The Honorary Title and my little sister felt the need to text me that To Write Love On Her Arms is on tour with him. The next band to grace the Larsen Student Union with its presence was Atlantic/Pacific, fronted by a pair of music industry veterans. Garret Klahn most prominently played guitar and sang in influential '90s emo/hardcore outfit Texas Is The Reason, bookended with stints in Copper and New Rising Sons. John Herguth has played in House & Parish and The Love Scene before the two hooked up to form their current project. Billed as "psychedelic indie/folk", among other things, the duo plays live with the addition of a basic rhythm section. To be fair, apparently a substantial portion of their equipment crapped out just before the show, surely a hard blow to any band that can be even tangentially linked to shoegaze. However, the show was simply uninteresting. The most positive comments I heard involved soundtracking mediocre movies, and quite a few students left early. The sound reminded me of a generic Guster by way of emo, and a lackluster performance gave me the impression these men are simply in a band because they don't know how to do anything else. In this era of television placements, however, perhaps all they need is to sculpt their niche sound and wait for commercial dollars to keep them afloat. A mildly catchy closing number offered a glimpse of hope, and Alex gave them the benefit of the doubt, so don't be surprised if these veteran rockers pull a great album out one of these days, but one thing is certain: Meet Your New Love is not it. This video captures the vibe pretty accurately:
If you'd like to make up your own mind, they are headed west with Gorbel at the moment-interesting coincidence-but they will return to the area without him at Kung Fu Necktie on March 4th. Hopefully they'll have some new gear.
