Rx Bandits – Live at the Glasshouse (4/23/2010)
Last night I went to the Glasshouse in Pomona to witness a rock explosion lead by Rx Bandits and supported by Good Old War and Zechs Marquise. This time we made it to the show with plenty of time to see the opening acts, and security was not as crazy as the week before (when I saw She & Him).
First up was the band Zechs Marquise. Zechs Marquise is an instrumental progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas that gets a lot of comparisons to the Mars Volta (probably because two of the guys in the band are the younger brothers of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of the Mars Volta). Their songs had good grooves that mixed prog rock and math rock, but without any vocals there was a certain disconnect between the band jamming on stage and the audience. The more I see these instrumental prog jam bands, the more they all sound the same (good grooves but not a lot of substance) . They were good, but nothing that really set them apart.
Next up was Good Old War. I caught Good Old War last month at SxSw and was really impressed, so I was looking forward to getting to see them again. Again, Good Old War impressed with their folky pop, filled with great three part harmonies. Their set consisted mostly of the songs from their debut album, with a few new songs mixed in (as they mentioned they will be releasing a new record in June). This band continues to impress me with their strong songwriting and great vocal melodies and harmonies.
After a short wait to build audience anticipation, Rx Bandits flew on to the stage jamming (with lead man Matt Embree playing drums alongside their drummer C-Gak) into “In Her Drawer”. Immediately the audience started grooving to the jams and singing their hearts out. From there the band moved into a mix of songs from Mandala and …And the Battle Begun (with a few tracks from the Resignation thrown in). The newer songs, off Mandala, seem like they were written to be played in front of sold-out crowds (like the one last night) with their anthemic choruses that the entire audience sings along to. The band fed off the energy of the crowd (an amazing sight to see) to deliver a set that was a groovy explosion of rock, prog, post-punk and dub (with some latin and blues in there too). Rarely in the almost 2 hour set was their a break from the music as the band jammed interludes between songs and played extended versions of many of the songs. This is the second time I have seen them since they have lost their last horn player, and I have to say the band is sounding tighter than ever. They seem to have really figured out which older songs to play (and how to play them) without the horn players to make it really feel as nothing is missing. Of course as musicians they are incredibly talented and a progression can be seen every time you see them (evidenced by the guitar/drum battle in the outro of “To Our Unborn Daughters”). A cool part of the show was during the breakdown for “Only For the Night” when one of the guys from Zechs Marquise came on stage to play a three way drum battle between C-Gak and Steve Choi (on three drum sets). The thing I like about Rx Bandits‘ jamming is that it doesn’t detract from the songs (they play songs perfectly) and it is never so long that it gets boring and they lose the audience. After about an hour and half, the band left the stage and the audience began to sing/chant the intro to … And the Battle Begun. The band returned to the stage with “1980″ (which includes that intro to … And the Battle Begun as part of the breakdown). The band played a few more songs ending with an awesome rendition of “Bring Our Children Home” with “Overcome” mixed in (during which the house lights went off and people held up their lighters to bring light into the venue).
After the many years (and many shows) of seeing Rx Bandits, their live shows continue to blow me away. They have a way of capturing the audience like no other band. The energy and talent they bring on stage every night makes them a force to be reckoned with and continues to prove why they are one of the best live bands playing music these days. Honestly it is difficult to describe the kind of energy at an Rx Bandits show and one best experience it themselves to really understand. Overall, another great night of music.
The set list (as best as I can remember it):
In Her Drawer My Lonesome Only Friend It’s Only Another Parsec… Dinna-Dawg (and the Inevitable Onset of Lunacy) [March of the Caterpillar interlude] …. And the Battle Begun
Apparition
One Million Miles an Hour, Fast Asleep
Hope is a Butterfly, No Net Its Captor… (Virus of Silence)
To Our Unborn Daughters Mientras La Veo Sonar
Only for the Night
Encore: 1980 Decrescendo Bring Our Children Home or Everything is Nothing /Overcome (the Recapitulation)
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Awesome review! This show was soooo sick, enjoyed it so much.
Comment by isabel April 25, 2010 @ 8:10 pm