Girlbandgeek Blog

Alvvays was coming to one of the local Santa Cruz venues, so it was a no-brainer, even though I had seen them last October at the Fillmore. I invited my neighbor Dennis, who is also a fan of Alvvays, thanks to my influence. This would be our first musical outing together, and I have to say it set a very high bar with three awesome exemplars of psychedelic shoegaze jangle goth goodness. It was, in retrospect, one of those special shows where not only was the entire lineup excellent, but it was in fact a rare opportunity to see these players perform together.

I decided we should get there early and go for a table up in the balcony so we could sit and rest our feet, since it was going to be a full evening of musical entertainment. This proved to be a good call. We got there at 7:00pm, and the doors opened around 7:25. We headed up the stairs to the balcony on the left side, and grabbed the first table closest to the stage.

Frankie Rose was the first band. They are a 3-piece band with Frankie on guitar and vocals, and two other musicians that I could not identify playing, bass, guitars and drum machine. I would characterize their sound as goth/shoegaze. The songs had a driving beat, lots of distortion, and echo-y lyrics that I (mostly) could not make out. The band stood in darkness the whole performance – if not literally gazing at their shoes they were certainly not making a lot of eye contact. Black and white movies of geomtric shapes played on a screen above them. Although I couldn’t make out many of the lyrics, Frankie does have pretty voice, and the band had a great sound. After an excellent but relatively short set they said farewall and seeped back into the darkness.

Next up were The Drums. The Drums were formed by Jonathan (Jonny) Pierce with his friend Jacob Graham in 2008. Graham left the band a year ago, but I’m pretty that was him playing guitar, so he must have rejoined for this tour? Long time member Connor Hanwick manned the drums, and Johnny Aries, looking like the goth Steve Reeves, played bass and guitar. I think this was the first night of their tour in support of the new album Abysmal Thoughts, which is pretty cool. Anyway, I liked this band a lot. They were kind of like bad-boy new wavers. Jonny was very appealing in his dark jumpsuit with Abysmal Thoughts plastered across the back. He had the blond puppy dog good looks of Rocky from Rocky Horror. He stalked the stage, turning in spirals and figure 8’s and dancing like he didn’t give a fuck. Their sound was heavy and hypnotic, and they put out 110%. After a decent set, The Drums waved goodbye and left the stage, only to return about a minute later. Jonny pointed to the clock and said “I realized we have time for a couple more songs!” The crowd, which was swelling and enthusiastic, roared their approval. After two more numbers The Drums made their farewall for the evening.

At last we were in the final countdown to Alvvays. By this time the balcony was packed with people, and Dennis and I were feeling pretty smug about our perch looking down on the stage. As I noted, I had seen Alvvays back in October at the Fillmore, but I was looking forward to seeing them again, and having the opportunity to observe additional nuances about the performance. Plus it was a lot more exciting to be able to see the performers so well in the relatively intimate setting of the Catalyst.

Alvvays are pretty restrained performers, but there was a more casual or looser feel to this performance than at the Fillmore. Even Molly’s sartorial choices – blue slacks and a black top – were more relaxed. Guitar players Alec O’Hanley and Brian Murphy are kinda serious, but good. Keyboard player Kerri MacLellan is zen-like and has sensible shoes. They all seemed to have sensible shoes, in fact. Must be a Canadian thing. But seriously MacLellan’s keyboards are a huge and excellent part of Alvvays’ sound, for which she deserves full credit.

Set List
Hey
Adult Diversion
In Undertow
Plimsoll Punks
Lollipop
Not My Baby
Saved by a waif
Forget about Life
Your Type
Ones Who Love You
Atop a Cake
Archie
[unknown]
Dreams Tonight
Party Police
[encore]
[unknown]
Next of Kin

They’re a very polished band, but they know how to rock and have a good time. Molly’s voice is sweet and pure, and many songs are punctuated with her signature “woo!”. New drummer Sheridan Riley, who joined in 2017, is an excellent addition to the lineup with her tasteful beats and excellent backing vocals. Sheridan is fun to watch with her cascading ringlets, too. I’m going to suggest for the next record that keyboard player Kerri McEllan and drummer Sheridan Riley should sing lead on a song or two if they like. Alvvays played most of the songs from their two albums, along with two I couldn’t identify which could have been covers, or perhaps new ones? In any case, Dennis and I left with smiles on our faces.

I have decided that May is going to be blog every day month!!! I am not going to post every day, but I am going to write for 30-45 minutes daily and see how that goes. So tonight I have to attend to my concert review backlog. I saw The Go! Team, supported by my faves and yours, Skating Polly back at the end of March. My impressions will be colored somewhat by the passage of time, but I do have my scribbled notes to jog my memory.

I’ve seen quite a few excellent shows at the Independent in recent months, most notably Mary Timony plays Helium which was definitely one for the ages, but that’s another blog. I was able to roust my buddy Alex to join me in SF on a week night to see some music, which was good. We went to 4505 Burgers and BBQ for dinner at my urging – the memory of that sublime pulled pork sandwich was calling me back for another taste. My selection was not quite as stellar as the last time, but still good. We still had some time to kill, so we grabbed a coffee at Bean Bag cafe, then headed to the venue.

We sat in the raised seating on the right side of club, same general location as our last visit to the Independent. We had plenty of time to chat and sip our beverages, as more people filtered in to the venue, and show time approached. Finally the lights went down and Skating Polly took the stage. Skating Polly consists of stepsisters Kelli Mayo on bass and vocals and Peyton Bighorse on guitar and vocals. Kelli’s brother Kurtis now seems to be a permanent member of the band, on drums and sometimes guitar. Kelli was on the left of the stage, farthest from us, wearing a fuchsia print dress. Peyton wore jeans and a dark knit top. Kurtis on drums, partially obscured by Go! Team’s equipment, was wearing a button down shirt with a bold print pattern.

This was my third Skating Polly show, and possibly the best yet. I feel like there must be a certain freedom in being the supporting act. Half the audience may not have even heard of you, so you don’t have to worry so much about what people’s expectations might be. You don’t have to do a lot of small talk, or play an encore. You can just play the set you want, and whatever applause you get is truly earned. So they just tore into a 10 song set-list that was larded with their best numbers (which is kind of ridiculous cuz all their songs are the best). It seemed to me the older songs had been tweaked just a little – I don’t have a musical education, but my guess is they added some swing for a slightly different feeling. Mind you, it wasn’t some weirdo versions of the songs, which I would have hated, but just a little twist, which probably made it a little more fun for the band as well. They played many of my favorites, though no Hail Mary which was a little sad. They played three songs off their upcoming album The Make It All Show: Free Will at Ease, Queen for a Day and They’re Cheap. Here is the set list:

Stop Digging
Louder in Outer Space
Perfume for Now
Free Will at Ease
Queen for a Day
Oddie Moore
Pretective Boy
Nothing More than a Body
[Kurtis on Guitar/Pey Drums]
Alabama Movies
They’re Cheap

Incredibly, Peyton and Kelli have been playing together for 9 years, and it shows. They are confident and relaxed, yet they’re still gritty as fuck. Peyton really brought it vocally, and unleashed herself on Louder in Outer Space and other faves like Oddie Moore and Nothing More Than a Body. For the last two numbers, Peyton and Kurtis switched places, and Kurtis treated us to his blazing guitar work.

Skating Polly are touring on the South and East Coast with Charly Bliss or Pottymouth, two more killer bands. So what are you waiting for?

I knew next to nothing about headliners Go! Team. I looked at a couple of YouTube videos and was not all that moved, but many bands are more compelling in person. That proved to be case with Go! Team. The Go! Team are Ian Parton (guitar, vocals), Ninja (vocals), Sam Dook (guitars, drums), Simone Odaranile (drum), Angela Won-Yin Mak (vocals, keyboard, guitars), and Adam Hutchison (bass). They hail from Brighton, England.

They put on a great show. There was a lot going on, with a big funky sound that had hints of Sly and the Family Stone and CSS. It was like putting R&B, world beat and punk in a blender. Singer Ninja took command visually, and vocally, on most of the songs. She had a very positive vibe, and an infectious warmth as she sang, rapped and danced on the stage. Angela Won-Yin Mak, who I nicknamed beret girl, also sang lead on a number of songs. Angela had more of a bubblegum pop voice, which was fun and was a counterpoint to Ninja’s bigger sound. The rest of the band totally rocked, too. Simone Odaranile on drums was a force of nature, and she was sometimes joined on drums by Sam Dook who traded off between guitar and drums. Guitarist Ian Parton and bassist Adam Hutchison were also pumped up, and helped propel the songs. All in all it was a high energy show that was tight, but really rocked. I picked up their new CD Semi Circle which is quite good – though perhaps not as compelling as the live show. But their set had me swaying and whooping until the last song. Would recommend!

I arrived at the Club, and locals openers Gal Pal were in full swing. Their Bandcamp page describes them as “queer femme garage friends”. They were young punk rockers and I warmed up to them quickly. Gal Pal were loud, and rocked hard, but many of the songs were also musically audacious, with interesting transitions, changes and a sense of drama. Gal Pal was having a good time, feeding off each other’s energy and powering some intense jams. Several of the members contributed vocally and they were not afraid to go for it, delve into the darkness, and bare their souls. All in all a very strong set, and I picked up a cassette of their album Girlish for the archives.

Next up were the Weaves. Fronted by vocalist Jasmyn Burke, the Weaves hail from Toronto, Canada according to Wikipedia. But before they actually played, there was an embarrassingly long period while the members of the Weaves worked with the sound guy. Apparently they were not happy with their monitors, because they kept check-one-two-ing, and banging, and strumming, and signalling ‘more (whatver) in the monitor’ for a long time. And yet when they performed they were still visibly unsatisfied with the acoustics. I will say that I did not connect with the Weaves. They were cute, and having a good time, which counts for a lot. I mean, they were good musicians, and Burke can really sing, despite having kind of a funny voice (kinda like Betty Boop, but not that funny). They were at their best when they went kind of raw and punk. Other moments just seemed indulgent – guitarist playing with his face, Burke moaning, goes on and on, whatever. But they rocked, and gave it all they had, and I certainly appreciated them for that. But they were not my cup of tea.

And then Palehound came on and they were awesome. Palehound are a Boston, MA band consisting of Ellen Kempner on guitar and vocals, Larz Brogan on bass and Jesse Weiss on drums. I’m pretty sure Sadie Dupuis of Speedy Ortiz put Palehound on my radar. I learned from my pre-show research that Sadie and Ellen met at music camp, where Sadie was a counselor. I got the impression that Kempner, despite being a powerful performer, has mixed feelings about being the center of attention, with the added scrutiny that a young, queer woman fronting a band attracts. But the intimate crowd at the Atrium was heavily queer and young, and Kempner expressed her appreciation, and gave a shout out to Gal Pal.

Palehound put on a performance that satisfied me in every respect. They played most of the songs from 2017’s A Place I’ll Always Go as well as selections from 2015’s Dry Food and 2013’s Pet Carrot. Kempner is a fiery guitar player, effortlessly jumping from delicate finger-picking, to power chords, to tasteful leads. Brogan and Weiss provided a punchy rhythm section to Kempner’s compositions. Kempner’s songs talk about love and loss, but also dissect the everyday moments that bind us together as humans – grocery stores, pet food, donuts – with a wistful and even aching feeling. Friday’s set was beautifully paced between pretty, wistful songs and punk-edged rockers. And when Palehound rocked, they really rocked, and lord knows, that’s what brings this geezer out to the clubs at my advanced age.

Definitely check Palehound out if they’re coming to your town!