Rank and Revue - VOL. 1, Issue 15

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The Richie Whites/ The Fight/ The Teen Idols/ The Applicators
Emo’s, August 1, 2003

I knew that I had to approach this night with all of the fervor of a true alcoholic. The previous night of serious rum consumption was just a minor set back. One beer, oh sweet nectar of the gods, can cure all! So, off to Emo’s to check out the festivities.

Despite the heat, the many faithful patrons were eagerly awaiting The Applicators and company. I was a little intrigued to finally see The Richie Whites simply because their name seems to be plastered everywhere. They came out really fast and much heavier than I expected. They had great energy and stage presence, but didn’t play for too long.

Up next was The Fight. Apparently they really are British. (I had my suspicions that their accents were fake). They have a female front, which always helps, but I was disappointed with the overall show. They are on tour with Teen Idols so try to check them out for yourself.

The Teen Idols were next. They play really fast, aggressive and loud. Much louder, in fact, than the prior bands. The lead singer is definitely a rock star, and he commanded his crowd. Their songs are reflective of their lives, my favorite was “about the best job in the world-the porno shop”. I couldn’t agree more; I’m still waiting for Dreamer’s to call me back.

Last but not least, The Applicators rocked the house. I admittedly, am a fan of any all-female bands. There is just something about “chick bands”. The appeal is universal. The girls like them because they’re girls and the guys like them because they’re girls. The Applicators are no exception to this rule. I was impressed with the musicianship and melodic sense in their brand of punk rock. If you like bands like Sleater Kinney or the Go Go’s, you’ll love The Applicators.

As The Applicators exited, the coveted special guests were introduced. If you’ve never seen a Trainwreck, shame on you. Trainwreck is the side project for Kyle Gass from Tenacious D. Anyone who was there would certainly agree that half of the D is better than no D at all. These guys were amazing. The band was on, and I was surprised at just how good they were. They played everything from a Tenacious D’s “Explosivo” to “Footloose” to an adaptation of Emenim’s “Lose Yourself”. At night’s end, the raging booze-hound within me had been appeased and I, exhausted and covered in sweat, was left with the aftermath of the Trainwreck.

-Rhiannon Dillon

The Blood Brothers
Emo’s, July 30, 2003

The Blood Brothers are pretty damn gay. Jordan Billie (one half of the band’s earsplitting verbalization) pranced on to Emo’s outside stage on Wednesday evening with a home made shirt reading “Boys of Summer.’’ He and Johnny Whitney then proceeded to exchange cacophonous shrieks, wails and head-waving gyrations behind a blitzkrieg fusion of bile and bedlam that is the rest of this punk-as-fuck outfit.

I’ve seen the Seattle five-piece a few times now and their non-masculine mystique captures an authentic and invigorating element of a genre that seems rather tiresome as of late (but don’t sleep on locals The Rise or Sea of Thousand). The Bloods’ set seems to pillage the artistic integrity of hardcore music through a life-mimicking compound of crank-driven drums, eye-bulging guitar shreds, a pair of sassy pipes and a virulent take on the essence of love.

When crowd favorites Jordan and Johnny weren’t groping the stage beams or trying to swallow their mics in burlesque fashion, they winked and grinned at the on looking kiddies standing up front and those bouncing around in the powder-puff, hug-and-shove pseudo-pit. After playing several songs from their major-label debut, Burn Piano Island Burn, produced by notable Ross Robinson (At The Drive-In/Glassjaw/Korn), the quintet ripped through a new track that sounded hauntingly radio-friendly before a change in tempo and two minute tirade of spitfire coos and a rancid racket suitable for any fan of Mike Patton, Steve Albini or Slayer.

Overall, the show was one big perspiration of blood, pink and tears that left drummer Mark Gajadhar (a self-proclaimed hip-hop-head?) looking for an I.V., along with guitarist Cody Votolato and soft spoken bassist Morgan Henderson.

-Smitty

Jealous Sound
Emo’s, August 5, 2003

Jealous Sound are quite the crowd pleasers. I had not yet heard them, but I was thoroughly impressed by their assemblage of talent. Their dynamics were vigorously influential and their following appeared to be great. Definitely feel good music with punk and rock and roll influences.

I really dug the vocals, and the singer was really into his lyrics. The melodies entertained ideas of heartsickness and self-medication, purveying angst and victory to the entirety of the bar (Dashboard Confessionals/ NOFX). The music was very interesting and well put together. Both guitars and bass were equally high quality and the drums were unyielding and forceful. A flavorsome display of today’s generation of mainstream ingenuity.

Emo's was pretty full and the applause meter leveled high. Although this was not my type of show, I respect these guys and their cause and had a great time. I predict that this band will soon prevail in the ranks of the punk-pop industry.

-Erin Muscato

Helios Creed/Gorch Fock/Confuzatron
Sunday, August 9, 2003

Emo’s was a haven for psychedelic rock this past Sunday night with two local consciousness-expanding acts supporting psychedelic legend Helios Creed. Confuzatron was already on stage playing the Butthole Surfers’ song “Strawberry” when I arrived around 10:45. Moses, the Buddha-like singer was dressed in a bright yellow poncho that had “Disaster Area” with an arrow pointing upwards to his bald cranium printed on it. Using a small effects box that sat on a stand next to him onstage, Moses manipulated his voice with different effects as he sang. All throughout Confuzatrons’ set, John the guitar player/710 doorman played effect-laden licks while John the bassman and Rusty the drummer kept the spaced-out ness together with straight ahead rhythms.

The next band up was Gorch Fock. I was waiting to get a couple of drinks at the bar and saw Rank and Revue’s own Kevin Stack. He signaled for me to meet him at the stage. I waited an extra couple of seconds hoping to get my beer, but I left and met Kevin near the front of the stage and he handed me a cookie before he sped off to prepare himself for his guitar playing role with GF. That cookie was good.

Gorch Fock is a relatively large band with seven members. The band includes two drummers named Aaron and Jason (who plays guitar in Migas), three guitar players Chris, Kevin, and Jeff (who also does keys/effects) and last but not least Joey on trombone, cocktails and vocals. Amps and drums dominated the stage to the point where two of the band members played in front of the stage bringing the nautical action closer to the growing crowd. The north wall of the stage served as a screen for film and slide projections adding a visual element to the Gorch audible experience. GFs’ music is hard to explain, it has droning percussive qualities to it that kept me groovin’. Joey’s trombone playing lends a melodic touch to the music that keeps the frenetic whole together. The last song GF played they improvised on, the bass playing a moderate tempoed melodic riff as Joey played the same passage over and over as the three guitarists and double drummers added their own stylings. The set was kind of short and Joey asked for volunteers to help them get their equipment off stage so Helios Creed could begin sooner than later.

Helios Creed took the stage at 1AM opening with a song called “Federation” about “coming down to your generation, coming down to your town,” heralding what was to come over the next hour and a half. Creed had two microphones set up on one stand, the mike on the left effected by digital delay/pitchshifting, bending and stretching Creeds’ voice, the mike on the right occasionally adding an echo effect. Creed told the crowd that the past couple of weeks had been pretty rough. He had gotten into a car accident and had to have his finger sewn back on. “You might be wondering how I can play guitar like this,” Creed said. “I found out I don’t use it that much.” The splint did not seem to hamper his effect-ridden leads at all.

A group of people dancing in front of the stage seemed to have had a little help in the chemistry department to get in touch with their inner dancing bears. Of course one of the group even responded with a modified psychedelic hippie dance, you know the one that looks like the swimming in circles? Throughout the extended set, the swirling miasma of drug inspired acid Rock rolled forth from the small inside stage. The music was pretty straight-forward Rock with eye swirling effects adding the crucial trippy atmosphere.

Creeds’ backing band consisting of bass, drums and second guitar was solid, taking his cues in stride when he could get their attention. Creeds’ guitar tone was variable, from plain ol’ distortion to a wah-wah drenched fuzz tone that cut through the mix like that last shred of reality during a hallucinogenic experience. One thing I found interesting about Creeds’ music is that he took the riff for Black Sabbath’s “Sweet Leaf” and put new words to it and called it “Darkside.” After “Darkside”, Creed sang “Johnny B. Good” to a different tune. Another song I enjoyed was called “Monsterlust.” Sixteen songs and an hour and a half after Helios Creed took the stage, he closed the show with “Late Bloomer.” I certainly enjoyed hearing the mind bending music of Creed, Gorch Fock and Confuzatron. Go see one of these bands the next time you see their names in the show listings in this here right fine magazine.

-James E