The Both at the El Rey, June 14, 2014

I recently started reviewing live shows for the mxdwn.com. For the first one I reviewed The Both (Ted Leo + Aimee Mann). Nick Diamonds (Islands, Unicorns) opened. It can be found here.

Steppe People at Redwood Bar and Grill

LA's Steppe People managed to warp time and space in the civic district last night, their noodley guitarmonies bouncing off the wood panel walls of downtown's Redwood Bar and Grill. Triumphant vocal harmonies and spastic riffs brought to mind the melodious anthems of Big Star, Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick, animating the small but engaged crowd the moment they took the stage with the gameshow-ready bass line of "1" bouncing through the narrow room and tightening the screws. Having gone through two drummers in the past year, and Marcus Savino (ex-Silver Daggers) having only played with the full band for the first time one hour earlier, it's nice to see the obviously talented rhythm section of Savino and bassist Scott Shannon giving purchase to the wall of shred flying off of Bill Gray's and Eric Carlson's guitars. It's doubly nice to see three vocal mikes in front of a rock band, and triply nice to see them utilized often, in unexpected moments of wistful harmonic bliss.

           

Although it was only a five-song performance clocking at no more than fifteen minutes, the cozy set complimented the cozy interiors of the venue, which looks more like the finished basement of a friend's maritime-loving parents than a rock venue. Along with the enormous ship-at-storm paintings on every wall, an ominous chandelier made from a ship's wheel, and the incandescent glow of the dozen or so ship-themed table lamps situated throughout the space, it felt more like a throwback to a high school basement show when the parents are away. The size of the sound system matches the size of the room pretty well, although some of Gray's lyrics got buried in the guitars. This wasn't an issue when the mellower three piece Wet and Ready took the stage afterward, but it also didn't prevent Gray's Ramones-esque attitude from coming through the mix. The sublimely subtle and manic pedal work wasn't lost either--brief swells of phaser would come and go, putting spacey accents at the end of an otherwise earthy phrase. If there's one thing these guys have going beside energy, enthusiasm, and a humorously self-deprecating stage banter, its a nuanced ear that never fails to surprise. 

Set List

One

Abba Says

Knife in the Marathon (Breaking Circus cover)

Disconnected 

Eating Alone

I have taken to posting new artwork online. Not here, here: reubenmerringer.tumblr.com

Movie

I imagine a place, a poorly lit room
where you can see your future
projected on a screen.

There are no hands telling you to 
clean up before you leave
or when to leave
so you know you can stay forever.

You sit on an ottoman
they put there for you.

You don't like what you see
so you ask for management.

You show it to them 
and they say,
Yeah, that's pretty bad.

You say,
So what do I do?

They say, pointing at the screen,
Sit there until it can't happen.

To which you say,
Story of my life.