Folks from Maine are just a little more hardy than the rest of us. Take Whitcomb guitarist Sean Libby, for example. He made the trek south with the band to participate in Rumble Prelim Night #4 a mere 48 hours after he was in the hospital with a camera shoved up his leg to check out his heart. He still had a hole in his appendage. Oh, did I mention that Whitcomb also played a killer set of face-melting metal? Hardy.
The 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble is off to a great start. Thank this lady when you see her.
Well, we’re half way through the 2013 Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble preliminary round. Things get going again tonight at TT’s with Mount Peru, Whitcomb, Lifestyle and Twin Berlin. I’ve had a few moments to digest the first three nights. Let me regurgitate some of my thoughts for you. You’re welcome for that image.
Old Favorites Eddie Japan was stellar in their Preliminary Night #3 victory.
It’s no secrect I love Eddie Japan. Their win on Preliminary Night #3 was the best set I’ve ever seen from them. I’m a big fan of Velah’s songs. I’m now a fan of Nick Murphy’s stage banter: “I’m sweating like Kevin Youkilis giving birth.” Cancer Killing Gemini’s new drummer helped propel them to a solid outing. The guy hits hard.
New Faces The New Highway Hymnal took Preliminary Night #1. I’m glad I finally got to see them.
I saw five new-to-me bands during the first half of the week. Supermachine, The New Highway Hymnal (Preliminary Night #1 winners), Glenn Yoder And The Western States, Herra Terra and The Okay Win all had impressive performances. What struck me was how good each of those acts is at what they do. The Rumble really does bring out the best in bands.
The Second Time’s The Charm Camden took Night #2 with a crazy good set.
I mentioned before the Rumble started how much I was looking forward to seeing some of these bands for a second time. They did not disappoint. Camden’s wonderfully loose set took Night #2. Endation blew me away with their set to open that same night. They’re a two-headed beast of sonic turmoil. The Deep North’s songs are really starting to settle in with me. I can’t wait to hear more. Blackbutton wailed away to close out Night #3. No sophomore slumps, here.
Fun With Numbers Endation was the sole duo of the first three nights.
Cover The Spread: The first three nights have featured 1 duo, 2 trios, 5 quartets, 3 quintets and 1 sextet. Did we mention that the sextet had pair of backup vocalists? Oh, and a trio of string players for their closing number? If you’re playing along at home, that means there were anywhere from 2 to 11 people on stage at one time over the first 3 nights.
The Flexible Four: 4 acts had a member playing at least 2 different instruments.*
I Can’t Count That High: How many patch cables does Herra Terra have in their rig? However many you think it is, double it.
Play Me Out
I bet Camden grew up listening to their parents’ LPs at 45RPM. “Getting Around” executes a perfect 3 minute pop tune in just over 2 minutes. Here it is, along with a few other tunes that have stuck with me. Now, come on out to a show!
* The Okay Win, Velah, Herra Terra and Eddie Japan
This town loves Americana-tinged rock ‘n’ roll. Glenn Yoder And The Western States do that as well as anyone. They proved it with their set last night in the Rumble prelims.
Eddie Japan opened Rock ‘N’ Roll Rumble Preliminary Night #3 with a flourish. They’ve got the songs. They’ve got the arrangements. They put on a great show. Eddie Japan takes the night.
Camden took the stage with a devil-may-care attitude and walked off with a win on Rumble Preliminary Night #2. The last band of the night played it fast and loose, easily putting on the most fun set of this year’s event so far. Look out!
