Songs From A Room, The Guys & The Assistants @ The Horseshoe

After a weekend full of concert goings, it was safe to say that I was beyond tired. However I was determined to see Songs From A Room perform at The 'Shoe last night so I figured since I'm going anyways, I might as well see what the other bands are like. Since SFAR were the band I had planned to see, let's start the review at the end and move backwards. Cool? Here we go...

Heavily bearded lead vocalist Brayden's voice was in full form as he yelled and screamed his way through a short but powerful set at the end of the night. Seriously, he's got a yelp that could effectively work as a form of shock therapy on certain people. The band was very tight, possibly aided by the fact that they kept themselves all relatively close to one another. Even the drummer is positioned center stage as opposed to being restricted to the background. This made his enthusiastic pounding the focal point in many ways which was incredibly effective. They have a sound mildly reminiscent of early Stones and perhaps a handful of other classic rock bands. But don't let that description pigeonhole them. They are not a bar band. I suppose that I also hear a touch of the punkier side of Sebadoh. Either way, they play loud, in-your-face rock, full of melodrama and passion. They have just released their new EP, and judging by their set last night, it's a must have.

Photos: Songs From a Room @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: Songs From A Room
Video: Player Player myspace

Sporting a moniker that I have trouble believing has not been picked up before, The Guys are as gimmicky as a Die Hard flick. But that doesn't mean that they didn't put on a great show. Their performance began with some guy announcing that this band was brought together by friendship, and made through love. "I introduce THE GUYS!!!" (I don't remember if those were his exact words, but it was something like that.) The drummer started pounding away as smoke and dry ice billowed through the air. Three sharp dressed guys (thus the name) strutted onto the stage, striking a pose with their backs to the audience before they headed forth with a punkabilly assault that went full throttle for just over 30 minutes. They were silly; they were partially choreographed; they were full of mock egotism and attitude, and they were way too much fun! Their music is obviously steeped in the classics but with a modern day thrust. They were also a great band to photograph because the rock star posing never stopped.

Photos: The Guys @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Myspace: The Guys
Videos: Promo video on youtube

The opening band of the evening was The Assistants. As far as the type of band that I most enjoy listening to these days, this band is the one that came closest to my tastes for the night. They have quite a variety of sounds. With their mellower material, I hear a bit of Echo and the Bunnymen. When they rock out, they're more like the Brian Jonestown Massacre. But overall, they remind me of some of the great bands you would hear on college radio in the mid 80's to early 90's. They are a great band performing intriguing music with apparently very little effort required. I haven't yet heard the entire album but from what I have heard, it sounds like something that I would definitely recommend. I'm looking forward to getting better acquainted with this band.

Photos: The Assistants @ The Horseshoe on flickr.
Downloads: This Time mp3 / Planet News mp3 / White mp3
Stream: The Assistants full album
Myspace: The Assistants