The Dinosaur Feathers kicked off the evening. Playing a mix of old and new, even some in the works, material they made themselves right at home. The acoustics in the room where spot on for their lo-fi but delectable harmonies and jangly guitars. One of the best parts about seeing DF live is their stage presence. You have a feeling you're sitting in on a bunch of friends (albeit crazily talented friends) laid back band practice. The fun they have creating their music is evident. Whether lead singer Greg is shaking it or the whole trio --Derek (on keys) and Tom (on bass) -- are giving eachother shit between songs it sets perfect mood for their brash pop sound.If you aren't already familiar with Dinosaur Feathers getter done and be sure to see them live. Their easy stage presence belies the intense amount of skill and vocal awareness that brings their harmonies to life. Its becoming more acceptable to have less then tailored vocals leading an indie band. In most situations it becomes an instrument enveloped by the rest of the band to the groups benefits. All three vocalists in DF have excellent voices and they combine to build incredible and unexpected harmonies, in particularly for an all male trio. They flexed this muscle on History Lessons and Sleeping In on Sunday and it was flawless. On their newer stuff they maintain the strong vocals and start tinkering with punk and alt. rock guitar riffs. Their set was a fantastic cross section of where they're at now and where they are headed. They begin recording next month and hope to release an LP this winter. But do yer best to see them live so you can add them to your list of "I knew them before they were big."
River City Extension, a seven member outfit from Tom's River NJ were supposed to follow however, after opening for Cake Saturday night in Baltimore only their lead singer Joe could muster up the energy to perform. I truly had no idea what to expect but was thoroughly blown away by what I witnessed. This was a v. intimate performance, just a man his guitar and a few folks dedicated enough to stay out late on a work night, but he put his all into his 45 minute set.RCE is an alt country band and Joe, I gathered, is its driving soul. He has a beautiful voice (a perfect compliment to DF opening set) and true knack for crafting lyrics. He has a rasp about his voice that suggest he cut his teeth belting out Springsteen tunes before introducing a little bit of a raw southern country influence. I took a stab at capturing his solo set with my iPhone and surprisingly got some good material. There were moments when I got the chills watching Joe go to town, caught in the moment, busting guitar strings just to entertain the small but enthralled audience. I couldn't have imagined a better way to cap off the night. Next up for me is to catch the entire RCE crew at one of the many shows they have lined up over the next few months. I suggest you do the same.
Teenage Whore - Dinosaur Feathers
Friends & Family (live) - Joe (River City Extension)
Bone Marrow Twist & Shout (live) - Joe (River City Extension)
1 comment:
Excellent review Em. Both Dinosaur Feathers and Joe were so good Sunday night.
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