Aloha, with Anathallo
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Jackpot Saloon
Better than: Slim Goodbody’s upcoming appearance at the Folly Theater
By RICHARD GINTOWT
Great drummers have a way of making ok bands into great bands. Aloha has two of them, but the veteran indie band’s music has always been more about sublime post-rock melodies than showy sticksmanship.
The quartet has played in Lawrence a ton of times since its inception in 1997, sharing tours with self-reliant acts like Ted Leo, Q and Not U and Cex (the latter of which included drummer Cale Parks). They’re distinguished by their liberal use of mallet instruments such as vibraphone and marimba as well as their top-shelf musicianship. It's heady stuff with righteous intentions -- a post-modern fusion of Steve Reich and the Zombies.
Just as many folks turned out for Anathallo, a chipper band that has the appearance of the Whos on Christmas morning with their wide-eyed glee and unison clapping. Most closely recalling Sufjan Stevens – not intentionally, I don’t think – the group’s neo-psychedelic folk rock uses extreme loud-soft dynamics, marching bass drums, tube bells, trombones and group vocals to demonstrate what the Partridge Family would have sounded like if they grew a pair.
The crowd was eating it up like a bunch of hungry baby birds and singing along with every word. The whole thing might have made me queasy if the music wasn’t actually quite complex and compelling. The performance was also first-rate, with each of the seven members pouring their guts into the communal whoopie.
Aloha’s new EP Light Works is a bit more mellow than the group’s previous efforts, but that didn’t prevent the band from tearing shit up like they usually do. Cale Parks is a beast on the drums, propelling the band with speedy sixteen-beats and thundering tom-tom grooves.
Material from my favorite Aloha record Here Comes Everyone and the follow-up Some Echoes sounded as fresh and energized as ever, and the Light Works tracks grew some rock legs onstage. It’s easy to see why these guys have sustained a dedicated following – they keep getting better at what they do, and they never perform like they’re tired of what they did in the past.
Random detail: I actually heard a guy doing Borat impressions. In 2000 and fuckin’ 8.
By the way: Both bands had a member sporting a rat tail. I hereby proclaim 2008 the Year of the Rat Tail.
0 Comments: