EPMS Note: This is a set of brief reviews of a number of bands I saw at The Warehouze on April 16. A couple of things to mention first: none of the bands had monitors, at least not on the floor, and pretty much all of the vocalists were off-key (duh!). I am going to assume that all of them could sing if they had monitors. I don't know why nobody brought monitors; maybe The Warehouze could provide them in the future. Anybody with any kind of trained ear would have a hard time listening to one singer after another sing out of key. Nuff said on that.
Tape Incident
3 piece band. would be OK with a real singer. This guy kind of chants. Kind
of jazz. The drummer is the best of them. They need a better singer, and more work.
A Black Letter
Decent. They really need a sound man. Reasonably tight. The singer/guitar
player has decent stage presence. Interesting lead guitar, but not a fast
player. Guitar fairly good, but needs better technique. Very good drummer.
Zero Syndrome
Tight band, with good stage presence. Could be
pretty good with good vocals. Vocals done by bass player. They have an
unusual sound - I would have to hear them again to identify what they are doing
that is different. I did like A Black Letter better.
May Falls Through
Vocalist sounds like he could sing, if he had a monitor. Interesting guitar
harmonies. Four-piece band. The sound is too distorted. The backup vocals are
growled. The lead vocals are OK. There is too much distortion to hear what
they are doing.
Vibora
They said they haven't been around long, and were just gonna have a jam
session. Well, they got that right. Still, they sound like they can play,
they just need a lot more sessions. Also, one of the guitarists is in love
with his effects. Way in love. Better sound than maybe all the other bands
before them. They brought up a girl from the crowd to sing one song. She was
decent, but hard to hear. The vocals should've been turned up. She was a
welcome addition to this band, and better than most of the night's singers.
This band actually the most complete so far, even if they have had little time
together. The bass sounds off-key.
Sycorax
This is a real band. The drummer is very energetic. Three-piece band.
I would like to see them alone, but with a sound check. The
drummer broke his snare drum stand. They laughed it off - it was funny.
The band employs lots of stops, and they use speed and time changes.
The vocal chores are done by the bass player, who sings very well. He plays a
five-string bass. This band was worth the wait. Excellent drums. The bass and
guitar players switched instruments for one song. It seems like all leads
technically simple. Actually, except for the very end, he really didn't play
anything I would call a lead. He had his back to me almost the whole set.
The band plays fine without a lead guitar, anyhow.
- Charles Hurley
