Well there aren't many nights that have this many shows going on at the same time. Witch Mountain was doing their LP release with Nether Regions, Rabbits, and Wizard Rifle. I have to confess, that I am not in love with any of those bands though. Purple Rhinestone Eagle, on the other hand was great the last time I saw them, and were with with The Shirnes from LA at Saratoga and I thought Black Wizard from BC, but more on that later.
But I have also really wanted to check out Eternal Tapestry with Moon Duo at East end. What to do? I gave a listen to all the bands, and determined that Karen and the other band whose name escapes me and I am too lazy to look up for the East End show where probably not going to be to my liking. Two chord Shoegaze tends to not get me excited.
So I left it up to my partner in crime, and he was in more of a rock mood. So Saratoga it was. I got there around 9 PM even though the show was slated to start at 8 PM. No one really starts a show at 8PM right? I arrived and killed some time playing pinball, at which I admittedly suck very badly, but I still enjoy none the less. First up was what I thought was The Shrines, mostly because I realized later, they were playing The Shrines kit.
The band broke out into a standard blues rock number. A trio, with the bass player and guitarist sporting Afros. Straight up blues rock does not excite me these days. Such bands have no place at shows where a good original band could be on the bill. I also felt duped because the music on The Shrines web site was nothing like what I was hearing. One blues rock number after another flowed. We are not talking blues rock re-imagined, we are talking straight up, Chuck Berry style blues rock, with nothing whatsoever new to add. The band played with skill, but I gotta say, I was really bored by their music. I was back playing pinball before the set ended, and that says something.
So the next band started to set up, on the same kit with The Shrines displayed on the kick. Who was the first band, and where was Black Wizard? Well turns out Black Wizard was not on the bill, some misinformation had been propagated, and the first band was a band on tour with The Shrines. Why bring such a band with you on tour? Only The Shrines now for sure. OK, well roll with it then.
Next came The Shrines, much more to my liking. Still blues rock based, but they did something original and psychedelic with it. Also a trio and playing the same rigs the first band did. I would call it psychedelic guitar rock. The lead guitarist tore it up, expertly manipulating his pedal board, even making adjustments to his delay with his feet as he played (nice thing about the large Electro Harmonic's original series Memory Man). He was rocking a strat and a Marshall head of some sorts I think. I didn't love The Shrines, seemed to focused on showman ship and less on the music. It wasn't bad, but I was not inspired to buy their music or merch. None the less, I think I know why they had the blues band open up. By comparison, The Shrines seemed like innovative geniuses. One of the advantage of picking an opening act that just plain and simple, makes you look a lot better as a band. The crowd had started to grow for The Shrines, and as it should be.
My friend still hadn't arrived. Damn dude is slow, so I tracked him down and we prepared for Purple Rhinestone Eagle. We arrived just as they were starting, and after a stop at the bar, we headed up to check out the action. Now things were not sounding quite right, and I realized that Andrea Genevieve, lead guitar and vocals, had switched amps. Last time I saw PRE, Andrea played a music man head, and sounded great. This time through, I was shocked to head a Line 6 head. Groan!
Now philosophically, I have no problem with modeling amps, or any other kind of gear with new technology as long as it sounds good. I use a digital modeling delay (The fantastic Eventide Timefactor) on my board. The Line6 amp did not sound good. It sounded like ass. You could not hear the guitar. The guitar had that modeling sound that just is not right, not sure how else to put it. Gritty and distant sounding. I was most disappointed. How do you tell someone a musician you don't know to take their amp out back and shoot it? I can't say that I will be motivated to go see PRE again. Bad tone sticks in my craw. But Andrea is really talented player. I know the promise of the modeling amp, particularly if you sue a lot of different sounds in your live show. Maybe she can dial it in some.
The rhythm section of Morgan Denning and Ashley Spungin were killing it, but the guitar, and also the vocals for that mater (another hint: point that mic at the back of your throat and the crowd might hear your vocals) were way too low. The crowd was sizable, best of the night, and PRE deserves it since they are awesome musicians and their songs are good. A fun local PDX band to see live around town.
Seemed like a short set, as it turns out, there is a curfew at Saratoga, being that it is located in a residential area, so the show ended at 11:20. But wait! Would it be possible to head down to East End and catch Eternal Tapestry and Moon Duo? Read my next post to find out.
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