Welcome to Degenerate Press' feature article. If this isn't enough you can always subscribe to Electric Degeneration, our semi-weekly and semi-weakly ezine, or surf the Electric Degeneration archive.
The Moaners, The Forty Fives
The Earl
September 2005
We were out on a work night celebrating JH & LH's anniversary, really just an excuse to see the Forty Fives, at the Earl. I hadn't heard of opening act The Moaners and wasn't in a hurry to slip into the back room until degenerate CR mentioned they had the lead singer from Trailer Bride, one of my favorite bands, so as soon as I saw them step up on stage on the monitor in the front room I headed back.
Melissa has an interesting voice, sleepy and vulnerable with a southern twang that works well with her (sometimes crude) jangly guitar. CR wandered in and bemoaned the two-piece setup, "I hate bass-less indie rock." But a few tunes into it he had to compliment drummer Laura King.
| They have sort of a minimalist Zeppelin sound with sliding, blues-based
guitar backed by pounding drums. Melissa doesn't have Page's guitar wizardry
but the melodies are fine and her voice sucks me in. (And it doesn't hurt
that they're both cute in a quirky, interesting way.) I stepped into the can at one point where the walls muffled the guitar and vocals but the drums came through, making me shake my head. That woman can play. |
 |
| She also played guitar and drums simultaneously for a tune. I picked up
their CD and enjoyed it even the day after the show when I'd just heard all
the songs. They're online at www.themoaners.com. |
 |
 |
After a break the Forty Fives came on. I've reviewed them so many times
I'm hesitant to say anything. They're so consistent my review would be
redundant. But for a moment I'll assume you haven't been reading Degenerate
Press for the last 5 years. The Forty Fives do 60's Cavern Club era garage
rock, solid R&B based, slightly fuzzy stuff that should be all over the
airwaves. Fortunately for us locals, they are undiscovered so on a Thursday
night like this you can catch them for a few bucks playing to a half-empty
room. As usual, they came on with all stops already pulled. |
 |
I was impressed with the energy level they were able to pump out for a
less than capacity crowd. Not only are they one of my favorite bands to see and hear, they're a lot of fun to photograph thanks to the non-stop bobbing and weaving of most of the members. |
 |
The weirdest photo of the night, thanks to a little less flash than was
actually needed. Ghostly, eh? We couldn't stick around for The Fleshtones due to work early the next morning and a weekend full of party plans, most of which we also missed. JH & LH followed Thursday with King Johnson at Northside, then joined us at the DP HQ for games and intoxicants on Saturday - in addition to working on a farm all weekend. Crap, it was all I could do to get the house ready for guests. I didn't even make it to the big New Orleans benefit show/party in L5P on Sunday. I am getting old... |
 |
Take
me to Degenerate Press' home page! All content on this site is owned by Degenerate Press and cannot be used without our permission. We have lawyers for friends with nothing better to do than cause trouble (no kidding), so play nice. Copyright © 2004, All Rights Reserved |