excerpts from "Come On Feel The Noise"

Friday
The Pour Haus

10 p.m.
Hambone
This one-person blues band (guitar in hand, percussion at his feet) could pass for one of the Jonas Brothers and has a name that is downright offensive. He attempts to win over the crowd of 13 (mostly Muffys and Chads) with some seriously intense guitar faces and self-deprecating comments about the fact that no one is here to see him. His technique is not completely horrific, but he can't keep time and his level of soul power would suggest that he might be Jim Belushi's son.

11 p.m.
Pete Dressman & the Soul Unified Nation
The image: A Red Hot Chili Peppers wannabe band from the Sunset Strip, circa 1991, that is now trying out "that hot new grunge sound." Lead singer Dressman wears a stylish black shirt and a tie, which is sweet but sad, considering that the audience has now reached only 20 people. "This one's on the CD we've got for sale!" he exclaims, which moves no one.

Midnight
Jonathan's Machete
Three completely generic fellows around 22 hit the stage and pound out a tune that sounds like "Fever Dog" from "Almost Famous" but, sadly, isn't. The audience has shrunk back even further. Apparently, the previous act, Pete Dressman & the Soul Unified Nation, was the "headliner," leaving Jonathan's Machete to mop up. When the singer announces that the second song will be an Incubus cover, I go outside to get some air.


Saturday
The Rudyard Kipling

10:30 p.m.
Squeeze-bot
A clever, unique combo that can appeal to the jazz, rock and jam band crowds - in a good way - Squeeze-bot sounds like a joke when you try to describe it but sounds terrific when you actually get to hear it play. Accordion, banjo, tuba and drums? There's no way this can work, but it does, and then they throw in a cover of "Walk This Way." Top that!

11:30 p.m.
Bad Blood
A high-octane, full-throttle '60s-style rave-up in the tradition of the MC5, these dudes really know how to rock the house. Lead singer Andy Gillooly can belt it out like no one else in town. John Waters would be wise to have them in his next film, no matter what era he sets it in. I'd love to see them with a horn section.

12:30 a.m.
Lucky Pineapple
One of the best bands in town, Lucky Pineapple has phenomenal range, instincts and skill, and can rock it out, slow it down and/or pull it inside-out, at will. It's hard to pin down where their ideas come from, but I'd have to start with exotica, prog, post-rock and new wave. Bonus points for knowing how to utilize one of the best drummers in the Western world.


photo by Amber Sigman

c. 2008 Velocity Weekly