This was an interesting night of music featuring Colourmusic out of Oklahoma, the Local band Witch's Hat, and the late addition of Gentleman Auction House out of St. Louis. I planned to see the show based on the myspace tracks for Colourmusic, but thought the pairing of Witch's Hat with Colourmusic was a bit odd based on the Colourmusic tracks I had heard. I went to the show expecting Colourmusic to be a gentle pop band, but the first note of the first song proved that impression to be 100% wrong. I will get to that later though.
So the night started out with Gentleman Auction House, and I was very suprised by this band. First of all, I don't think I have think I have seen the stage at Mojo's stuffed with as many people before. They had two drummers, two keyboard, a bassist, an acoustic guitar guy, and a lead guitarist. However, the acoustic guy also played xylophone and did something else, the guy keyboardist also played guitar and trumpet, and the girl keyboardist also played flute. Needless to say they have a lot going on up there on stage, and the music had a very nice complexity to it while somehow having the feel of an old tent revival band. I found the music to be very entertaining and original. It had the Jam band feel based on instrumentation, without the extended instrumental noodling. If you have a chance to check this band out I would highly recommend going to the show. I would also like to note that the female keyboardist played the keys about as brutal and angry as I have ever seen the instrument played.
Next up was the ever entertaining Witch's Hat. This is my second Witch's Hat show, and it was a similar experience from the last one. Great music, entertaining stage show, and lyrics that I have a hard time getting crazy about. Don't get me wrong, the lyrics are clever and well written, I just don't get into fantasy based songs about battles and Knights etc. The highlight for the night for me was their song Lazer. For this song the lead singer uses a Bullhorn instead of the microphone (which really makes it hard to get a good live recording of the song by the way), and during the song he will jump off stage and runs through the audience while singing. He did this last time, and I still find it entertaining. I would say that everyone needs to experience a Witch's Hat show at least once in their lives, but the band is playing their last show on August 8 at Mojo's here in Columbia, MO, so I doubt most people will be able to experience greatness that is the Hat. My only downer for the night was that they didn't play Glodyany 1972, I love that Vampire song. I will say that the guys at Colourmusic loved the show, and actually begged them from the stage not to break up and come to Stillwater to play a show with them in September.
After Witch's Hat, it was Colourmusic's turn to take the stage. The band all wore matching white Clockwork orange outfits and all the instruments and amps were white. That was my first indication that perhaps they had a little more of a stage persona for the show, and that the pairing with Witch's Hat made a little more sense. They opened the show with Put In A Little Gas, and my first impression of the band was shattered. This song assaulted the ear with a tumultuous sonic blast, with the lead singer shouting his lyrics above the cacophony with a thrust of the fist to emphasize his point. This band has been described as a combination of The Flaming Lips and The Polyphonic Spree, and I would have to agree. Like these bands, they put on a show live, and Colourmusic can play the fun me low pop songs, but they have a hard complex edge to most of the music that borders on noise will not lend them to extensive radio play. However, if you are a fan of this style of music, you will love Colourmusic. They put a great show full of complex sonic combinations that ebbs and flows from quite melody to earsplitting assaults. I hope these guys hit Columbia again, because I will be there.
I got good recordings of all of these bands, and I will post set lists and links to download the show after I finish mastering them all.
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