The night started off with Houston, Texas, natives Astra Heights and their blend of warm Britpop and vintage Rock and Roll. They showcased tight harmonies and complementing outfits that could only come from a band of three brothers. Their youthful energy almost allowed me to forget their lack of originality…almost.
Next up, the ironically-named Nightmare of You offered a genre-mixed indie pop that was well received by the crowd. The band started out a bit flat, but singer Brandon Reilly quickly found his voice, along with his feet, throwing in some Marty McFly-inspired dance moves. Drummer Sammy Siegler threw in a seemingly eight-armed performance that elevated the interest level of Nightmare’s music by adding elements of jazz, hardcore, and dare I say, reggae. In my opinion, the forty minute set by these New York newcomers stole the show, but don’t just take my word for it. The real judge is always the amount of ladies underwear thrown onto the stage. The scores for the night: Nightmare of You: 1; Everyone else: 0.
A lengthy down-time followed Nightmare’s set, most likely to cleanse the musical palette and to let the melodramatic mood set in. Behind a screen of thick smoke and night-club style lighting, She Wants Revenge took the stage and proceeded to lull the crowd into a hypnotic state by playing one note for over three straight minutes. Finally, after the foreshadowing was complete, the band rushed through a mix of fan favorites like “Sisters” and “Out of Control,” and some lesser known fillers. I was impressed to witness singer Justin Warfield go through the entire set without trying to distance the band from their often criticized ability to sound like a less interesting version of Joy Division.
It was very apparent that She Wants Revenge is a love/hate type of band. The “love” side would probably describe the performance as minimal, magnetic, or maybe something as daring as tragically beautiful. The other side of the fence, like the gentleman next to me playing games on his cell phone, might favor words like monotonous and mind-numbing. At times I couldn’t tell who was more bored, the cell phone gamer next to me, or the touring guitarist on stage. In all fairness, though, the guitarist might have just been trying to focus. It takes a deep level of concentration to strum the same down stroke 4/4 rhythm for sixty minutes straight.
The repetitiveness of the set was finally broken at the forty minute mark when the band left bass player Adam 12 alone on the stage to treat the audience to a delicate piano interlude. The overly-social crowd was less than excited, but at this point, any change was welcomed, even if it did sound like the transition music from “Days of Our Lives.”
The band returned and eventually finished the night with their hit “Tear You Apart.” There was an obvious jump in excitement from the crowd; even the cell phone gamer turned his attention back to the stage. The shift shows that She Wants Revenge has a lot to prove in the coming days as the “one hit wonder” tag flies in their direction. Only time will tell if the band will be able to keep people interested in their dark dance pop, especially with the tough competition of cell phone entertainment.
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