Battle
Of The Bands 2004 @ Sherlocks
Battle
2 - 02.05.04
1.
Duke Sherman
I
thought Duke Sherman would be this really big, fat dude,
looking hard, like heÕs lived the blues and rode trains
and lived with hobos and all that; who could make the
guitar cry or sing or scream or wail and would drink
lots of whiskey and be missing teeth.Ê Ya know, the name
Duke invokes those types of images, at least in my mind.
So
imagine my surprise, when this hip-looking young fella
comes out playing a super cool Telecaster Deluxe Custom
Special thing-a-ma-jig with two humbuckers and f-holes
(for those gear buffs).Ê Hmmmm I think ÒI thought Strats
were the ÒbluesÓ guitar of choice.ÓÊ And this guy donÕt
look the blues.
But
this cat could flat out playÉraunchy blues riffs, wah-wah
solos, Texas stomp, classic posturing, playing with a
drumstick through a variety of familiar numbers.Ê Plus
the tele tone sounded awesome.Ê Big and thick and in
your face, sweet and warmÉmmmmmm I liked it.
Coupled
by a rock solid rhythm section with an overactive bass
player who walked on the bar, itÕs no wonder this trio
has been making a name for themselves in the Òblues sceneÓ.Ê A
fine, fine set of rocking Texas blues! - photo
by Rick DiBello review
by John Johnston
2.
Swerve
Probably
the most mellow, yet most melodic of the bands so far
in the battle.Ê Well, not mellow, like, ya know, like
flowers and trees and stuff but more laid back and poppy
and songsmithy (spell check caught this but IÕm using
it anyway).Ê Kind of like Hootie or Live or a more laid
back Pearl Jam and good enough to get the whole crowd
hootinÕ and hollerinÕ and participatinÕ.
The
highlight of the set was the last songÉthe singer said
something about a Rumble and I thought, ÒBack up man,
this is going to be in your faceÓ yet maintained the
same feel and vibe, except with a cool extended ending
jam where at one point there was this really high pitched
slide guitar hat caused me to look up from my drink to
see if it was a thereminÉthe song kept going back to
a short chorus and more great jamminÕ, that felt spontaneous
and certainly showed off the musicians ability.Ê
Oh
and Swerve sounds like a Brit Rock band name to meÉlike
shoegazer, apathy rock, but these boys were heartfelt,
sincere and well, nice and definitely AmericanÉnot really
used to describe rock, but I use nice in the nicest form
and in the nicest complimentÉnice set, nice music, nice
job! - photo
by Rick DiBello review
by John Johnston
3.
Everything Ends
The
lone out-of-town actÉfrom Jamestown N.Y., it was explained
to me that one out-of-towner gets in and then the winner
gets the opportunity to play in a other towns ÒBattleÓ,
these boys certainly were cute and pretty good.
Kind
of had that sound of that band with the gal singer on
the radio now ÒWake me up in sideÉsave me from the something
that IÕve becomeÓ with the video where sheÕs prancing
around her bedroom and jumps out the window (you know
the one right?) meets Green Day (or Blink 182, or Sum
41 or other numbered band) with the singer sounding a
bit like Eddie Vedder. Plus a cool techno-type sample
while changing to their ÒheavyÓ guitars (you had to be
there!).
Crunchy
and chorusy guitar and tight rhythms with short-songs
made their set very enjoyable and I guess they said they
were playing around here again so check emÕ out.Ê Good
crowd response considering no one knew who they were
and itÕs hard to go to somewhere as an unknown and follow-up
the first two acts and still bring da noise! - photo
by Rick DiBello review
by John Johnston
The
standings after week 2 of Battle of the Bands are:
1st
Place - Ron
Yarosz
2nd - Waiting For Never
3rd - Everything Ends
Battle
1 - 01.29.04
Battle
3 - 02.12.04
Battle
4 - 02.19.04
Battle
5 - 02.26.04
Battle
6 - 03.04.04
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