Even pre-plague, I wasn’t seeing as much live music as in ye olden days, and social media has me less inclined to write about it. But Saturday I saw a show I wanted to remember come future days, and rather than let some corporation own and manage that content I figured I better post it on my own damn site.
Bad Spell features a trio of local gents who have more than a few bands between them. Brian’s pleasantly scratchy vocals lead the way most of the time. Shane plays a baritone guitar in place of bass, bringing a more nimble sound in place of thump, and Pietro thrashes the drums energetically, combining to produce a garage rock sound a bit less retro than the Forty Fives, yet still familiar.
Eons ago, I fell in love with a band from Brooklyn called The Weight (not to be confused with The Weight Band, or The Band’s tune The Weight.) I’d heard one or more of that act were in Country Westerns and had moved down to Nashville, so I have been looking forward to catching them live. I was not disappointed.
It’s a bit Americana sounding, with a 12-string up front adding some Byrds jangle. Joseph Plunket’s vocals are scratchy and appropriately emotive for the heartfelt lyrics. The first time I caught The Weight I broke out in tears, “It’s like getting to see DBT in the early days again!” Country Westerns are a bit more weathered, perhaps a bit more sedate, but it has a very similar melancholy about it.
Country Westerns probably should’ve started the night off, then let Bad Spell build the energy up, then have The Schizophonics burn the mother down with their garage rock inferno.
My brother had been badgering me for years to catch The Schizophonics. They do some raucous 60s style garage rock with simple, punchy chords and sing-along vocals all with more energy than any other act I’ve seen. But it’s the on-stage histrionics that make the live show a show.
The stage was cleared so that the singer/guitarist could run, leap, and/or roll from end to end, drop a few splits, bounce off the wall and spring back to the mic without losing a note.
I wasn’t sure the band would hold up on a studio recording but was pleasantly surprised by Hoof It, the record I picked up at the show. If you’re a fan of acts like The Woggles, The Hate Bombs, The Forty Fives, or, to go back to the origins, The Sonics, you’re gonna love The Schizophonics.
