Philzone.org - Philzone Phansite Community Discussion Board: Setlists and Reviews: Non GD Related Reviews: Archive: WMDS - Coach House - 11/5/08

I originally posted this elsewhere, 2 parts.

part 1
GREAT show last night! 2 nice full sets, about 2 1/2 hours of music. hard to really describe this band in detail, they are a hard-rocking group but also throw in a lot of interesting time signatures and of course Keller's unique lyrical and vocal style. Sipe drives the band hard and keeps them right on the edge of multiple rhythms all night. Gibby Droll really shines, a lot of great lead guitar work, and a lot of interesting fills. Moseley is solid as can be, and his playing seems to be more diverse than when I last saw him w/ SCI in '06. They have a lot of fum, that can be seen in their smiles.

first show of 10 over an 11-day period, this show had the band in good spirits and not tired, and as Keller said "we're not jaded yet!" I wish I could give a better setlist, there were more than a few familiar KW tunes that I recognized. big nod to Garcia and the Dead with versions of Brown-Eyed Women, Don't Let Go and a great 2nd set Birdsong > The Other One > Birdsong that featured them drifting into reggae and back. encore was Best Feeling.

surprisingly large crowd for a Wed nite in OC, place filled up nicely and a good dance scene going on. if you are on the fence about seeing them I'd say go for it, especially if you want to rock out to a band that is going take you to a lot of familiar places yet occupy a unique place of their own. a lot of the music is much more complex and sophisticated than it first appears. this is a band of 4 well-seasoned players that can turn on a dime and have a unique chemistry. again, difficult for me to put the music in any one specific genre, it will surprise you at times and I like that. they are definitely psyched to be playing this short West Coast tour and the rest of this week should really gather momentum.

4 3/4 stars out of 5 for me.

part 2
>it's takes a stellar performance musically to overcome the drab environment and horrible acoustics of the domino room.<

that could very well happen for you, these guys can COOK.

Droll has a really unique gear set-up. 2 amps, turned backwards from the audience. he just killed it on the Birdsong, the guy's becoming one of my favorite guitarists right now. plays a Strat exclusively and gets a lot of bite out of it. not as much of a rounded-off, mellow sound as Scott Law. Keller's playing last night on electric was really good too... he broke a string at the start of best feeling and seamlessly switched to acoustic and the signature sound he gets was neat to hear, kinda the only time all night he used that old-school Kdub acoustic sound... Keith's playing was super solid, used the browm Lakeland 5-string and a nice tall bass cabinet. Sipe's a trip... yeah I dug it can ya tell???

highly enjoyable and detailed review. What's the deal with Gibb's amps turned away from the crowd? Are they miked up or just turned up really loud, contributing to hearing loss for Sipe!?

>> contributing to hearing loss for Sipe!? <<

The times I've seen this band, Sipe's kit is set up on the side of the stage facing inward...

Gibb's plenty loud, and he's mic'd to the house PA as well. the amps have open backs, just seems to be his trip. if I go tonight I'll try to find out the specifics....

and yeah Sipe is far side stage left, facing sideways. Keith's right next to him, Kdub in the middle and Droll stage right. it's a great way for them to interact apparently...