Jan 30 2006
You Showed Me
Friday night.
Nethers, Cedars and Bicycle Thieves at the 930 Club.
Three great local acts, all putting on great shows and nary a "The" to be had.
As if the show itself wasn't exciting enough, I was also eager to give my camera another work out at the 930, the lighting there is fantastic and I hadn't been back since seeing the Super Furries a few months ago.
First up were Nethers, the one band on the bill that I wasn't that familiar with. They were formerly The Carlsonics but they broke up a year or two ago, changed their sound up and reformed as Nethers. I almost skipped seeing them and boy am I glad I didn't. Nethers is a weird hybrid of folk and shoegazer/drone rock. And by weird, I mean incredible. At times they sounded like Luna, other times like Mazzy Star and others like Sonic Youth if they went folk. It's nice to go see a band that doesn't churn out your typical indie-rock and Nethers fit the bill nicely. The lead singer was just incredible. She belted out every tune with great charisma and passion. I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I liked their set so much I bought a CD after the show, something I haven't done in ages. I enjoyed them the most out of all the bands and can't wait for their next show in DC (part of their national tour *hint hint*).
Download: Nethers | Hung Herself In A Birdcage (MP3)
That last remark shouldn't be taken lightly because Cedars played the best show I've ever seen them play on Friday. Their new material breaks new ground for the group. The songs were really energetic; just leaping out of the speakers. The band has come a long way since I saw them at DC9 last March. They were trying out a new guitarist who used to be in Phaser and he added a definite rock element to the songs which is a welcome plus, because their live sound has been lacking a bit since Mark left the band. "Fleets" still needs some work but these guys are definitely headed in the right direction. Again, they looked like they belonged up there on the 930 stage.
Download: Cedars | Lo-fi (MP3)
Bicycle Thieves definitely drew a big crowd and had everyone signing along and dancing before the night was done. John Kaplan is an amazing songwriter. He has hooks for days and knows how to use them. They've also added an extra guitarist since I've seen them last and as a result, their live show is much beefier. They don't gig around town as much as many of the other local acts but strangely, this doesn't seem to work against them. It seems like people always make time to see them because they know they won't be playing again for a few months. But by the number of new tunes the band played, it seems like they've been practicing alot lately.
Go here to download some tracks by Bicycle Thieves. "Loser of the Year" is highly recommended.
I got some amazing pictures of all three bands which I highly recommend you check out over at Flickr.
Posted by Kyle in Concert Reviews | Permalink
Comments
Great photos Kyle! The class is paying off. This is also a great review - you made me want to check out Nethers and Cedars in the near future (I was already hip to the Thieves). I'm excited that DC seems to have a growing number of really respectable artists.
Posted by: Wendy at January 30, 2006 2:11 PM
holy moly! those are some really fantastic pictures there, well done.
Posted by: EAR FARM at January 30, 2006 3:05 PM
Leaf, your photograpy skillz are making the rest of us look bad. Good show, ole chap, good show.
Posted by: Uncle Grambo at January 31, 2006 11:59 AM
the camera is rockin' kyle! awesome pics!
Posted by: Melina at January 31, 2006 12:52 PM
It was good running into you the other night at the show. Nice pictures! I sent something to the MetroMusicScene list with a link.
Posted by: Mike at January 31, 2006 9:42 PM
