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Dirty On Purpose, A Northern
Chorus, and Aberdeen City
Mar 5, 2006
@ Sala Rossa
part of April 2006 update
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La Sala Rossa was pretty barren on this chilly Sunday night, a
disappointment for the still-young annual Under The Snow festival.
Still, the line-up was a good one, so our small group of dedicated
listeners embarked on a concert experience that surely would never be
matched...
Rarely does the first act steal the show, but tonight it was
Dirty on Purpose that took the crown. They play a dreamy, fuzzy
sort of rock that comes up both spacey and revving. They got the hooks
to grip you and a fine set of songs. Look out for the EP. "Mind
Blindness" was my personal favourite, but my comrade really dug the
song with the bowed guitar. The guitarist was refreshingly humble
afterwards as well. These guys could be on Clairecords in the close
future; keep an eye out.
A Northern Chorus was the band I
came to see, as I've been dying to check them out live ever since
their 2001 debut (which, interestingly, seems to have disappeared off
the face of the planet in the wake of their new one, Bitter Hands
Resign). I missed the first two songs as I was busy stealing
matchbooks in the restaurant downstairs (as well as eating some
delicious and affordable wedge fries), but the rest of the set was
decent. The live presence wasn't great, but it was nice to see the
trademark cello-playing and boy/girl vocal harmonies in person. The
band seemed visibly disappointed by the poor attendance, something the
Under The Snow festival might want to consider next time around (where
was the promotion?) - though I suppose it was, after all, a Sunday
night.
Now's the time to mention the between-sets DJ, GY!BE alum
1-Speed Bike. He played a couple of brief but intense sets that,
despite the lack of dancing, completely tore up the place. Pretty
inappropriate given the bands they were segueing between but hey,
who's gonna complain?
Aberdeen City was the flashiest of the three acts, and the
most rock-centric. They reminded both of us a LOT of Interpol,
but had more Radioheadesque vocals. Loads of potential here,
though they were bland at times and a few of the songs were too long
(the second-last one, for example). One of their guitarists was
especially notable because of his ecstatic, manic stage presence - he
was jumping around like a wildcat and must have broken three guitar
strings over the set, resulting in frequent mad dashes to switch
guitars. This was good stuff but it could have been a bit more
interesting.
Overall, the show made for a thoroughly enjoyable Sunday night, and
certainly opened some eyes to a bunch of exciting
new bands. At the very least, this
was miles better than sitting at home watching Family Guy.
For sure.
Matt Shimmer |
