[Austin, TX] I’ve been mildly obsessed with this
band since running across them at a SXSW. A tolerance for the imperfectability
of live music is an accepted part of SXSW, and really live music viewing in
general. This just didn’t apply for this band. They were slick as all hell,
fancy and big – and I just loved them. It wasn’t just for all that, but also
because they managed to combine 70s anthem rock with disco bass beats, and some
serious light strobe action. It was a welcome relief from being indie
sympathetic. So I’ve tracked this band’s live shows as I’ve tracked no others,
but haven’t managed to see them when I was in Austin, in Colorado (of course),
or even in Houston because they were touring so much. Turned out, my visit with
Austin coincided with their visit with Austin. And then I really got to know
the band. First impression: they share a lot of similarities with Chili Cold
Blood, another Austin band I love for their heavy grooves and proggy funk. My
music partner that night, WomanInCharge, pointed out that they sounded like the
Allman Brothers, which upset me, because I was avoiding jam band music after my
recent Colorado stint, but I realized she was absolutely right. This band was
Southern rock (nothing wrong with that) and jam band. In fact, this explained
my initial attraction to the band, because I cannot deny that I listen to
southern rock when I’m alone in my closet. But this band went two ways.
Sometimes, they were way too poppy and Black Keys, with their audience of pot
smoking I’m-on-my-big-night-out-outside-of-tech-work audience, and then they’d
draw on Led Zeppelin and be stoner
excellent. They also have an electronica persona, very similar to Ghostland Observatory,
as WomanInCharge correctly observed. In all, I feel conflicted about his band,
which fits exactly with ThinLizzyLover’s observation from SXSW that he both loved
and hated this band. (Photo of them from this night courtesy of
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