Abinormal, arguably the most popular band playing El Paso these days, played Three Legged Monkey on Sunday. I had already reviewed them once, but there isn't much happening on Sundays, and Abinormal, playing close to my home, is pretty hard to resist.
The last time I saw them, I was fairly close to them, but off to their right (Grey's) side. This time, I was about twice as far away, but in the middle. They were goofing off less than last time, but then, they were only playing two sets. The last time, they were doing a lot of dancing (except, of course, for Grey). This time, there was much less of that, maybe because it was Sunday. Still, Abinormal is a party band, although a tight party band. They like to change the pace, mixing in pop and funk, plus some heavy metal. This makes sense, because pop and funk is as close to the essence of Abinormal as is heavy metal. They even played a short, but delicious, thirty second snippet of Selena's Biddy Biddy Bom Bom.
Charlie, who might be the best rock singer in town, wore a low tweed-looking cowboy hat and glasses, a startling contrast to the skull cap he wore last time I saw this band. Grey played several nice, slow leads. It seemed like Danny was not playing so much lead this time as before. Maybe this was just my perception. The contrast between Grey's slow hand, and Danny's faster and slicker style, is nice. Isaac's bass is much more prominent in this band than in any I have heard in a long time. The fact that they are such a clean-sounding band probably has a lot to do with this - it's harder to hear the bass when the guitars are heavily distorted. Nacho is very good, but tends to play a straight-up, swing style. Not exactly straight-up, but more so than most drummers in town.
Good showmen, they play well with the crowd. Charlie dutifully admonishes them to "tip the waitress and bartenders." I got a kick out of him every time he would mention, in an excited voice, Three Legged Monkey's one-dollar hot dogs. I keep meaning to try one of those myself. After Sunday, you'll never hear me complaining about Charlie selling something - he gave EPMS a plug, too.
The fact that Charlie, the real-life English professor, mentions the venue is only one reason that club managers like to hire them. Another is that Abinormal always brings a good-sized crowd. This time around, much of the crowd missed a good portion of the show, as the Three Legged Monkey didn't start to fill up until the middle of the first set. Ya snooze, ya lose.
Songs played included "Should Ever," "Pieces," and "Something More" from their CD, as well as "Bulls on Parade" and "Killing in the Name," by Rage Against the Machine, and Breaking Benjamin's "So Cold."
There are several things that set Abinormal apart from most local bands. One is the high level of musicianship. They aren't going to slip up. Another thing is the styles they play. If I have to pigeon-hole them, I'll say they are pop-rock, or maybe rock-pop, but with a wide range. They play a little heavy at times, but it isn't their forte (they actually play quite a bit heavier, and with more distortion, on their self-titled CD). Part of the time they remind me of the lighter side of Led Zeppelin. Other times, they remind me of some bands from the 70's such as Steppenwolf or the Guess Who. As far as that goes, "Born to be Wild," or "American Woman," would be good songs for them, if they haven't done them already.
What really stands out about Abinormal, though, is Miller's singing. The clean sound wouldn't be there if they were masking his voice with distortion, which many local bands do (and over-do) to their vocalists' voices. He has great projection for a local rock singer. If he wanted to front Charlie and the Millerettes, playing pure pop at places like Senses Do Brazil or Teddy's, he could. He wouldn't, of course, because he would not have as much fun as he does with Abinormal. And fun is an important part of this band.
The tightness might be over-done, from my POV. The one thing I don't like about them is that they are too regimented. I had noticed the last time that Nacho doesn't do drum fills. They don't do many stops. It would be nice to see them cut loose more. Still, I can't complain too much. I've seen them twice in a month, and I wouldn't mind seeing them tomorrow, especially in a bigger place.
I got to talk to Charlie and Nacho for quite a bit after the show. Nacho is a connoisseur of local bands. Charlie was telling me he needed to go home and grade papers. I'll give this band another grade of 'must-see.'
- Charles Hurley
