Touche and Edmond Dantes @ Neurolux (5/1/13)

Like plenty of other music-savvy folks in town (I'm guessing), I was looking forward to catching Todd Snider at the Egyptian Theatre.  When the day came around, unfortunately, I didn't think that I could afford to put down the $28 for a ticket, great American songwriter or no great American songwriter.  My spirits didn't get too low, however: the couple of songs that I'd heard by Touche and the presence of Edmond Dantes on the bill persuaded me that this Neurolux show would be a more than acceptable alternative.

I counted about twenty-five people at Neurolux around 8:40 pm.  When Touche played, I counted ten people actively listening to the music.  Not unexpected but still a raw deal for the bands.

Edmond Dantes opened the show.  Actually, it may have been just as well that not a lot of folks saw this set. A new drummer, Magnum the boombox, made his debut here, and he clearly needs a bit of work.  He had trouble with one number, jumped the gun at one point and flat-out refused to play at another.  There was a false start or three besides that.  Still, once the music did kick in, it sounded as sexy as ever.  Andrew Stensaas's croon glided over the modest crowd's heads while Ryan Peck's bass eased the bouncy beats and infectious tunes down their ears.  Also, now that I know the lyrics (I've been playing their EP Etta quite a bit), I can state with conviction that yes, "I Don't Like You" really is a great song.

Magnum needs to work on his stage presence too.  Far too undemonstrative.

Touche played next.  Near the end of their set, a gentleman at the bar shouted for them to please come back, there'd be more people next time.  Here's hoping that they take those words to heart (and that the guy gets proved right).  Alex Lilly's breathy coo, playfully enticing stage act and terse, stinging guitar fused with Bram Inscore's shimmering synth hooks, percolating beats and viscous bass.  Their hard candy tunes and slinky grooves would've been enough, but when was the last time you heard a synth-pop band name-check Donald Fagen or combine vibrators with the obsolescence of labor?  Smartly sexy and sexily smart.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  If you like what you've read and would like to help keep it going, click the yellow "Give" button in the upper right-hand corner and donate whatever you can.  Even $5 can go a long way.

Edmond Dantes and Hey V Kay @ the Crux (3/2/13)

The intro to this post is gonna be a little long, but bear with me.

I was awfully tempted to check out Go Listen Boise's show at the Crux last Saturday.  However, since I'd already written about Iconoplasty, Hey V Kay and Edmond Dantes a couple of times each, I figured that I'd go with a show across the street at Neurolux instead.  The headliner, Oklahoma band Broncho, had played there last year, but I'd missed them for some reason or another.  The opener, Seattle "Experimental R&B" group Night Beats, sounded promising too.

I arrived at close to 8 pm and found only fifteen or sixteen people there.  That struck me as a little strange.  Then I learned that Night Beats had canceled.  That struck me as a little disappointing.

I plopped down in a booth, drank a couple of beers and read some Yasunari Kawabata.  After two hours had passed, the crowd had built to over forty.  Broncho had arrived and done their soundcheck, but they still hadn't started playing.  That struck me as a little really friggin' lame.

Around 10:20, I decided that I'd had enough.  I paid my tab and walked over to the Crux.

It did my heart good to count over fifty people there.  So did seeing a good chunk of the crowd on their feet and close to the stage.

I got there in time to catch the last bit of Hey V Kay's set.  The beats and synthesizer hooks sounded as enticing as ever, and Karen Havey's low, solemn moan sounded in strong form.  The lights shining up on her and Owen Havey's faces added a suitably dramatic touch.  However, the set wasn't all gloom and ominousness: for a laugh, Havey tossed in a Goat Song cover.  The crowd cawed along most enthusiastically.

Edmond Dantes closed out the night at the Crux.  What a difference a drummer makes.  I already liked Andrew Stensaas's gliding, soulful croon and Ryan Peck's sinuous basslines plenty all by themselves, but Jason Ringelstetter's quick, intricate, hard-driving work behind the kit upped the funk at least twofold.  Also welcome was Joey Corsentino's calm, jazzy trumpet.  When even I wanna start dancing to something, you know it's good.

You can find info on these groups on Facebook and elsewhere online.  Special thanks to Stephanie Coyle and Go Listen Boise.

Voice of Reason, The Steve Fulton Band, Pause for the Cause and Edmond Dantes @ the VaC (12/22/12)

I decided to check this show out because I wanted to show some support for Boise Rock School, who set the show up and who benefited from all of this night's proceeds.  Of course, it also helped that the bill featured two local acts I'd never seen before (well, I thought I hadn't, anyway) and synth-soul/funk duo Edmond Dantes, whom I've wanted to see again since the Go Listen Boise electronica show back in July.

I saw about twenty people at the VaC when I arrived.  Happily, that number would more than double as the night progressed.

Edmond Dantes opened the show.  Their tunes and hooks sounded every bit as elegant and entrancing as I remembered.  Ryan Peck's tight, fluid bass work and some slinky, intricate recorded beats wrapped around Andrew Stensaas's silken moan and warm synthesizer.  There wasn't much dancing during this set, but there was some good applause.

Up next was Meridian group Pause for the Cause.  This may be a bit of a backhanded compliment, but society must be improving when Meridian's getting their groove on.  Even before they played a cover of "Badfish," I'd remarked that these guys sounded quite a bit like Sublime.  That's not a bad thing--their catchy tunes, sharp arrangements, elastic basslines, fiery guitar solos, rock-steady drumming and interweaving vocals would've sounded just fine on 90's alternative radio.  They sounded just fine in 2012 too.

After Pause for the Cause came the Steve Fulton Band.  As it turned out, I had already seen Fulton back when his old band, House of Hoi Polloi, opened for the B-52's.  I remember thinking that they were so-so, but that could've just been impatience on my part (they weren't the group I wanted to see).  Anyway, I found Fulton's clear tenor, clipped soloing and inspired blend of blues, country and reggae much more than so-so this time around.  It undoubtedly helped that he had some tough, twangy bass, percolating drums and wailing organ (courtesy of old Hoi Polloi compatriot Russ Pfeifer) backing him up.  This set also featured some smooth rapping from local emcee Exit Prose (formerly known as Timbuk II of Kamphire Collective).

Local reggae group Voice of Reason closed out the night.  Perhaps it was the same as when I saw Hoi Polloi open for the B-52's, but this group impressed me much more here than they did when they opened for Toots and the Maytals back in July.  Frontman John Hoonhout's bluesy licks sounded more distinctive, and the Jamaican accent that he adopted while singing was uncanny--it sounded like the genuine article, not some affectation.  His bandmates' high harmonies, sly basslines, lithe drumming and tasteful horn interjections all followed suit.  I grew too tired to stay for the entirety of their second set, but the band and a handful of people were still going strong when I left around 1 AM.

You can find info on these acts on Facebook and elsewhere online.

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears @ Alive After Five; The Prisms, Edmond Dantes and The Dirty Moogs @ Neurolux (7/11/12)

Normally, I try not to schedule seeing more than one show on the same day.  I just figure that it's good for my mental, physical and financial health.  This past Wednesday, however, presented two opportunities that I couldn't pass up.  Last year's Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears show at Neurolux was one of my favorites of 2011, so I got excited when I saw that they'd play Alive After Five.  Also, the good people at Go Listen Boise (who, coincidentally, organize the local openers for Alive After Five) had arranged an intriguing all-electronica show at Neurolux later this evening.

I was glad to see that so many folks braved the 100-degree weather and made it down to Grove Plaza.  I gotta admit, though, that I don't understand how people can drink beer when it's so friggin' hot outside.  It's not like they need help getting dehydrated.  Oh well, to each his/her own...

Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears took the stage around 6 PM.  Their performance would've generated plenty of sweat without the sun's help--one part Stax soul/funk, one part juke joint blues, one part punk rock.  The Honeybears' soulful horns and swaggering rhythm section got the people close to the stage moving.  Black Joe Lewis delivered the songs in a raspy shout and slashed out tornado-like riffs and blistering solos on his guitar (whose dirty yet sharp tone doesn't sound quite like any other guitar that I've heard; it's like a rusty stiletto stabbing your ear).  I'm very glad that I got to see these guys again; they might be the closest thing in spirit to Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers going nowadays.

Unfortunately, I needed to run a last-minute errand and couldn't stay for the entire set.  I'd have liked to have heard them play "Livin' In the Jungle"  and seen if they'd had the balls to play "Mustang Ranch" (about their misadventures in the titular Nevada brothel) or "Bitch, I Love You" with all those kids around.  At least I got to hear their funked-up cover of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breaking Down" again.

I took care of my errand and got down to Neurolux before the show started.  The crowd started out decent and grew as the night progressed.  That was good to see: Go Listen Boise has been supporting the local music scene for years, and the folks there deserve all the support that they can get.

First up at Neurolux was local trio The Prisms.  As you might expect from a group that features Spondee's Clint Vickery, their lightly funky synth pop had more hooks than Cabela's.  The multicolored light and laser show added yet another level of fun to the sharp drumming, super-catchy synth and guitar lines and endearingly mild vocals.  It took a little while to get the people dancing (with the exception of a lissome, short-haired brunette and her friend), but a playful cover of "Always Something There To Remind Me" did the trick.

Next up was duo Edmond Dantes, who may or may not have changed their name to Barbarian Princess after this show.  Whatever they choose to call themselves, they're well worth checking out.  Their spare, elegant, seductive synth-funk/soul would've sounded right at home on the soundtrack to Drive or Miami Vice.  The strong, yearning tenor of the lead singer made me think of Pickwick's Galen Disston.  They remade Elvis Presley's "Devil In Disguise" and Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes" in their own image, and their originals didn't sound any worse for it.

All-synth trio The Dirty Moogs closed out the night with a wonderfully goofy, highly danceable set.  Between their leader's mock-German accent and songs with titles like "Tight Tight Pants," "Julie's An Android" and "Nintendo" (which really did sound like it could've come from an old 8-bit Mega Man game), they sounded like Kraftwerk or Gary Numan on laughing gas.  Not coincidentally, they included a Kraftwerk cover in their set and went out on that supreme anthem of alienation, Gary Numan's "Cars."

You can find info for all of these groups except Edmond Dantes/Barbarian Princess on Facebook and elsewhere online.  For info on upcoming Alive After Five shows and more, go to www.golistenboise.org.  Give 'em a couple bucks too, if you can spare it.