Sunday, 2/13/05
I loved this very heavy, hard-rocking 4-piece band. They feature a great drummer and an excellent guitar player. The sound could be better, but I will definitely want to see them again.
From the bar, I couldn't hear the vocals or guitar well at all. After moving to the section in front of the band, about 30 feet from them, I could kind of hear the guitar, but still not the singer. I am not sure if he was singing in English or Swahili. This is due to heavy distortion, but that isn't as much of a problem with this kind of hard and heavy music as it would be with more melodic fare. They'll be fine until they hit the big time.
The drummer, Orlando, played just fabulously, displayed a lot of passion for what he was doing, and was very nice when I went up to talk to him. The guitar player, Marty, is a wonderful, 4-fingered guitar player, but, like the left-handed bass player, Rudy, he spent the whole night looking at his shoes. Oh, well. I liked the singer, too, except that I couldn't understand anything he said, because he was even more distorted than the rest of the band. I asked Orlando about this, as well as someone else identified as being connected to the band, but what they said did not make sense to me. At least I can say that Tim's vocals were in tune, and he dances like a singer. Maybe he was singing in Swahili, but it worked for me. Of course, bass players never get any respect, but rhythm is a big part of what Chronicals does, and Rudy must have been doing a good job.
I also appreciated the well-placed, perfectly-timed stops. It is a simple thing, but delicious when well-done.
Songs played included Creed's "Sacrifice," "Keep Away" by Godsmack, and "Kryptonite" by Three Doors Down.
On the negative side (I have to keep up my reputation), they take very long breaks, and they obviously were renting the smoke machine by the hour. Eventually they will need either a sound man, or maybe a little better equipment.
The band should have a great future if they keep it up; it will definitely be a waste if Orlando and Marty don't make it big.
about The Three-Legged Monkey:
the service at the bar was great, and pretty good at the tables. I
had to move from the bar because of the sound.
But man, waiting in line to use the bathroom is a major bummer.
Build another men's room!
I'M BEGGING YA!!! PLEASE!!!
Oh, yeah, then maybe put in a PA for the house.
- Charles Hurley