DUNDEE LIVE - BANDS TO WATCH!!
DAVE? + COLOUR CODED + TINY DANCERS - Fat Sams 17-08-08
Dave? have crossed my path many times since the heady days of the Westie's dynamite gig. They have intrigued, delighted, amazed, amused, confounded, confused and even bored me in the process. Rarely has one Dundee band been so chameleon-esque.
But tonight, it began..........
The first thing to say is that they have become a trio. But the way they were playing, you'd swear there were more - it was immense!! The drumming, for a start, sounded so solid, you could build warships with it. But it was dynamic, too, both the motor which drove it all forward, but the glue that held it together at the same time. The bass pounded throughout, deep, dense and meaningful, while the lead guitar riffed and soloed with the energy of a lightning storm - and, even with all this going on, the whole became greater than the sum of the parts. Vocally, the lead singer's like a sort of accelerated Scottish half-brother to Television's Tom Verlaine, a sort of in-tune whine that's totally hypnotic and fits the arrangements to a tee. On the second number, their brand of hi-octane rifferama allied to the urgency of delivery without being actually fast, was positively astounding. Yet, there's a real sense of light and shade to the track and you can tell that the, presumed, addiction to rehearsal space, has paid off in buckets. A third track, a slightly truncated version of a kind of epic indie numbe that first dazed and confused me at Dexters, featured a cascading guitar intro and lurching drumming that fed into a scorching, slowly riffing guitar and deep throbbing bass as the lead guitar suddenly scythed its way through with the nasally vocal soaring on top. There's a verse, but it's a chorus, too - and, vocally, that's practically, all there is. But it's now a prime example of the "less is more" theory as the variation in arrangement and the instrumental twists and turns along the way, simply hypnotize the open-mouthed listener. From cyclical to flowing, with drumming from militaristic to dramatic, even a mid-section that slows to a sea of atmospheric guitar-led gorgeousness, and deep bass undercurrents throughout, this is now a tight slice of perfectly positioned daring that you feel only Dave? could get away with, and which, in their tight grip, is now commanding attention. By contrast, the next track proved to be a short, sharp and thunderous slice of energised riff 'n' roll while the last track began with staccato riffing that flew into soaring lead guitar and punding bass which lurched away, punctuated by some flowing vocal work and driving rhythms, the finale of spiralling lead guitar-led electricity, leaving you wanting more. Dave? have turned many corners - which have led into other corners or unexpected u-turns - tonight they turned a corner into an open-ended straight line of an horizon where the hammer can be thrown down and the world is waiting for them to scorch into view.
But if Dave? were great, Colour Coded were out of this world - easily the best, tightest, strongest and possibly most commercial set I've ever heard them play. Practiaclly every song was an anthem in its own right, once again, their new found sense of tightness, the much improved vocal delivery and the band interplay, allied to a set of really superb and seriously strong songwriting, al now means that this band have come out fighting and are ready to take on the world. The opening track began with a kind of Draymin-esque intro as the soaring anthemic vocal strode into view, almost a kind of self-harmonising sound that I've only really previously heard from Andy of Indianapolis, and just so immediate. The guitars take off as the chorus approaches, the song driven along on a sea of tight rhythms and driving riffing, the icing on the cake provided by a scorching lead guitar break flying along on top. The second track featured a similar intro only this time the sound of a more ringing style of lead guitar combining with deeper bass as the ever more impassioned lead vocal rises from yearning to holler in a heartbeat as the song climbs amid chiming lead guitar, driving riffing rhythm guitar and a high-flying chorus. Without a break it segues into the third track that opens with a big beefy drum intro that heralds the arrival of an incendiary lead guitar riff, which drops down to a driving swirl of native drumming and punding bass, as the rhythm guitar starts to rif away and the anthemic vocals just soar along in that strong and confident anthemic perfectly harmonic holler, the song's verse-as-chorus rising above the band-driven whirlwind. The fourth track opened with a burst of feedback guitar over pounding drumming as theband erupts into a huge sounding wall of guitars and rhythms, then the whole thing drops down so naturally to the main verse, sung with high emotion. You can tell it's going to lead into something even more exciting, as the arrangement begins to build, and so it goes, an even mightier chorus featuring dual vocals harmonies and leads on a song that oozes indie-anthem status from every pore. Up next was the long-standing Colour Coded gem of a song, "Breathe", that should be on everone's myspace playlist, a solid enough track on the web, but here developed into a driving rocker of a composition with another slice of soaring, passionate vocal delivery spearheading the verses as this cyclical guitar chimes away over tasty rhythm guitar dramatic drumming and a chorus that captures your heart and refuses to let go - just fantastic and positively addictive. They ended the set with another track from the myspace site whose title I've forgotten as I write this, but which is absolutely a sensational anthem of a track, at this point the entire audience on its feet and swaying along with a band that's not only taken off with all the majesty and jaw-dropping heat of a Saturn V rocket, but has now charted a path to infinity that's got "greatness" stamped all over it, every song, every part of the arrangement and singing, the best they've ever got it. The next great Dundee band is here - see them now before they get away!!
Headliners were a touring band called Tiny Dancers who I was told by several on the night were really excellent, so I hung around. A quintet, the first thing that you noticed was the frontman on lead vocals, rhythm and acoustic guitars, a guy who looked distinctly like a cross between Cheap Trick's Robin Zander, Kim Mitchell when he was younger and Jason Connery!! The opening track began with dramatic solid drumming as they launched into the main riff of the song. Now, every so often, you can't help yourself when a song begins and another song that you know immediately pops up in your head - so it was with bemused confusion that they were driving through the first minute of the first track while my head was trying desperately not to run through Abba's "Does Your Mother Know". Luckily, we parted company after a minute or two, and their blend of fierce riffing, glam-rock drumming and this huge sea of synths and guitars was toped off by a chorus of rock-sweet pop that was every bit as teeth-rottingly gorgeous. From there they played a set that, as it went on, proved to be a bit "samey", a kind of "one-trick pony" where it came to arrangements, although as a live band they really know how to hold a crowd in the palms of their hands. The acoustic guitar-led track made me think that the lead singer really wanted to be Jon Bonjovi, while my friend with me on the night was muttering something about how we should all be line-dancing at various intervals along the ride. Not at all something I liked, but which I have to say I kind of grudgingly admired. The band canm play, they've got an electrifying frontman and they can really make a noise, but there's got to be more than this where the songs come into play - time will tell.
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