Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: Codetalkers - Pittsburgh PA 2/6/07

cross posted from OS:

had a good time hanging out w/ some local "scenesters" though...Alicia (the cute dark haired chica who is always at "jamband" shows), Eric & Mike from The Cause, and some dude named Bill...missed Verve13, as he unfortunately had to be home to get his furnace fixed ...hope you were warm, dude ...

as for the show...

Arrived at the Thunderbird in Larryville around 8:00 pm, had some wings & started pounding the $1 Genesee Cream Ales to save $$, even though the T-Bird has a very good & eclectic selection of domestic micro-brews & cool imports. The band hit the stage around 8:45 (8:00 show time). I hung back by the bar upstairs and there was enough room to move around comfortably & see the band most of the time...not nearly as packed as the last time they were there (due to the weather, I think).

Not being familliar w/the repotoire, I can't list songs, but they ranged from rockabily, jazz, punk, a Dear-Prudenceish song, dissonant psychadelic soundscapes, to straight up power chord rock & roll ala the Stones &/or the Who...many songs started slow & quiet and built up to screaming climaxes of whirling note storms, sheets of icy guitar licks whipped into a frenzy by gusts of thundering bass lines and machine-gun drums. Thier basic song style (assuming they played all or mostly originals), when they were in taxi-ing mode, seemed to veer a bit toards Elvis Costello, the Beatles & maybe the Crash Test Dummies (BLR's vocals remind me a bit of the vocalist from CTD).

All in All, quite a range of styles and spaces, all performed to the hilt by a power trio verging on pure talent. My only crticism, and this may be a criticism of my own limitations as a listener, not neccesarily of he players, is that on occasion, I could do with a bit fewer notes per measure & more open space in the music. This may be because I am not capable of procssing all that information in my tiny, pea brain...I wouldn't say that BLR wastes notes - he can hit ll of them and finds a way to do so often...but not repetetively.

I will definitly try to see these guys whenever possible, be it places the T-Bird, although I think they would be best suited by Mr. Smalls or even a Byham/Benedum gig (though the price of admission would rise accordingly). Actually, they would be awesome outdoors, at a festie or an Arts festival/Hartwood Acres style gig...

Nice read dude.

Its really cool reading about Bobby Lee Rodger's guitar playing from first time ears. Nice description. I have spent a fair amount of time listening to some of his chords and also find it hard to comprehend at time. I literally forced myself to the rail the last time they play in NYC so i could watch him work the whole show and hear what he does. He gets alot of sound out of that old Gibson hollow body and Leslie organ amp. From what i observed the Leslie has 2 speeds..high and low. And he uses it through chord progressions the band hits. I have no idea what "the band" sounds like with Ted's electric bass though (he normally plays acoustic)...but i can already see where you are coming from when you commented on opening some of those progressions up. The last time i saw them play it was LOUD...i mean there were times BLR, Ted and Tyler where playing with such volume i started hearing screaming noises and industrial sounding reverb coming from the Leslie. I didnt believe it till i listened to the tape on the LMA (coda nyc show) and heard it again from an AUD source.

I think some of the octaves the band hit together when they jack it up are often times unbelievable and ....fresh. And I dont really know any other band doing stuff quite like that today...3 piece ever.

Glad you dug it dude!

>>Leslie organ amp

ah, yes, a major ommision on my part, as we were discussing that..."where's that keyboard coming from? I dont see anyone playing keyboards..."

Mike from the Cause (a keyboardist) clarified the Leslie factor...

major assumption on my part..

was Ted playing electric bass?

Yes. Indeed he was.

And, having seen them twice previously (once w/Jimmy & the Colonel), I was expecting the upright, but I enjoyed the interplay w/the electric as well...very clear enunciation on the bass lines. Great playing...great sound (tone-wise & tech-wise as well, becuase this is a 20 x 100 [maybe] room we're talking about...w/brick walls, so it has the potential to be boomy).

nice lude, glad you dug them
i think they kick serious ass and put on a killer show
and for the money?
hooooo-eeeeeee its a bargain and an absolute blast
thanks for taking the time to post about it
bring on nyc!

Nice review Lude!

I look forward to catching this band someday. What live material I've heard has been excellent.

No banjo in Baltimore. Any elsewhere?

bobby's put his banjo on the shelf for a while. the band's current format--big, big driving sound with only one guitar-- doesn't really leave room for it. i 'spect he'll break it out next weekend when he plays w/aru in charlotte.

i'm glad the band is getting some recognition on this board. for my money, they're simply the best band in america.

i'm glad the band is getting some recognition on this board<<

we have exquisite taste