Give the drummer some.
Friday night at the , an excellent, three-band, buzz-worthy lineup entertained a decent-sized crowd. And while all three bands featured above average musicianship, they also featured exceptional drummers.
Often the most overlooked member of any band, a drummer’s job description entails merely anchoring the whole damn show (to hear drummers tell it). Despite this critical role, they’re also usually the last to get laid (again, to hear drummers tell it).
Seattle act opened, showing enormous potential and, to these ears, stealing the show. Fairly young, but with chops and intricate, multi-layered songs that reveal a broad musical intelligence, their short set was surprisingly impressive. While their most recent eponymous EP (the band is unsigned) is dark and moody, onstage, the band displays pop, psychedelia and prog/math rock affectations.
While guitarists/vocalists Erik Waters and Kyle Musselwhite added inventive fills, short, dramatic solos and some exquisite arpeggio embellishments, the rhythm section (bassist/synther Sean McCotter and drummer extraordinaire, Marcus Ourada) made the band’s set as remarkably tight as it was, playing inventive basslines and clever, playful beats.
The second-to-last-song of their set, “A Stitch Couldn’t Save the World” had to be heard to be believed. It featured unexpected time changes (and not in that “Look at us go!” wank-off way), melodies that grabbed you, out-of-nowhere gut punch riffs, lead vocals that showed some actual hearts and that killer rhythm section.
followed and proved worthy of the East Coast media buzz they’ve generated, not only for their Yep Roc CD, “Born & Thrown on a Hook,” but their astoundingly energetic live shows. Bass player Ben Money, when not tied down playing the occasional snare drum or keyboards, all but ran back and forth from stage left to right, looking like someone in a “These are your legs on Red Bull” ad.
The band’s noted numerous ’60s references, particularly “Sgt. Pepper’s”- era Beatles, Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention and solo Syd Barrett, were evident. Keyboardist Farzad Houshiarnejad and Money switched instruments occasionally but the “bad acid trip at the circus” keyboard vibe on a few songs really set a foreboding, wicked fun vibe. James Harvey’s lead vocals were powerful, at times soaring operatically. “He’s belting it out like freakin’ Pavarotti” I overheard someone (probably me) say. The closer, “Seasickness Pills” ended the set oddly, but in an odd way totally in character with their set.
Still, most of the crowd was there to see Maps & Atlases, whose recent CD, “Perch Patchwork,” continues the departure from the frenzied math-rock of earlier releases toward a more pop sound. The band played a lively, entertaining set and, as with the other bands on the bill, drumming propelled the set. Fans rewarded the band’s trademark guitar finger-tapping and spastic, elaborate rhythms with several instances of spontaneous sing-alongs, hearty “woo hoos” and cheers for their favorites from the band’s earlier EPs.
Any of these three bands could have carried the show. Friday, they all did.
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Mike Long is a Longmont-based writer and comedian and a regular contributor to Reverb.
