So last night i went and checked out my co-workers band, Shallow Man Down, and i have to say, it was an entertaining night.
First, we can start with the terrible. Terrible mix, terrible PA system, terrible looking crowd, terrible clothes, terrible tattoo's, terrible stage candor("can i say i have a woody onstage?"), terrible crowd dancing (yes, people actually danced), terrible bar prep (one bartender for a packed bar), terrible hair, terrible cliche's, just terrible.
But
the music wasn't all that bad. I went into this little show with a mindset that i was going to hear some pretty bad music, and i was surprised. Shallow Man Down is your typical jam band and thanks to a really good drummer and bass player, the music actually ma
kes you want to nod your head. Since I'm pretty young its hard for me to find a group to compare the music to, just stereotypical jam music for your average 40 yr old dive bar patron.
Unfortunately the vocals were mixed into the background music so the sound was driven by the bass (note the "terrible mix"). Jake Scott, the guitarist, was a lot better than i anticipated, i wish his mix would have been louder and could have been helped by a rhythm guitarist because the keyboardist forgot to play keyboard.
Jake, Matt and Tim (guitar, bass and drums) are the obvious talent in the group. All three looked comfortable on stage and besides the cliche rugs and no shoes, were very fun to watch. David, the singer, apparently has a pretty good Creed-style voice though you couldn't really hear it and he lacked any range, and humor for that matter, and he needed a haircut, and he was reading his lyrics from a notebook...
As for Poppa Baca on bongo's / percussion, definitely didn't need this element of the group, but, it didn't take away either. The only element that didn't seem to fit in was the keyboard/tambourine player. He added nothing of music interest all while doing a fake Scottish accent and looking like a total fool.
All in all, the songs were good, predictable, but enjoyable. I would love to hear these guys in a better venue though i am partial to small, intimate places so maybe just another bar where the sound guy actually stays in the sound booth. For $5 i am glad i went, I'd see these guys again, especially since this was their first live show and there's no denying that the guys had some jitters.
Good job fellas.
First, we can start with the terrible. Terrible mix, terrible PA system, terrible looking crowd, terrible clothes, terrible tattoo's, terrible stage candor("can i say i have a woody onstage?"), terrible crowd dancing (yes, people actually danced), terrible bar prep (one bartender for a packed bar), terrible hair, terrible cliche's, just terrible.
But
the music wasn't all that bad. I went into this little show with a mindset that i was going to hear some pretty bad music, and i was surprised. Shallow Man Down is your typical jam band and thanks to a really good drummer and bass player, the music actually ma
kes you want to nod your head. Since I'm pretty young its hard for me to find a group to compare the music to, just stereotypical jam music for your average 40 yr old dive bar patron.Unfortunately the vocals were mixed into the background music so the sound was driven by the bass (note the "terrible mix"). Jake Scott, the guitarist, was a lot better than i anticipated, i wish his mix would have been louder and could have been helped by a rhythm guitarist because the keyboardist forgot to play keyboard.
Jake, Matt and Tim (guitar, bass and drums) are the obvious talent in the group. All three looked comfortable on stage and besides the cliche rugs and no shoes, were very fun to watch. David, the singer, apparently has a pretty good Creed-style voice though you couldn't really hear it and he lacked any range, and humor for that matter, and he needed a haircut, and he was reading his lyrics from a notebook...
As for Poppa Baca on bongo's / percussion, definitely didn't need this element of the group, but, it didn't take away either. The only element that didn't seem to fit in was the keyboard/tambourine player. He added nothing of music interest all while doing a fake Scottish accent and looking like a total fool.
All in all, the songs were good, predictable, but enjoyable. I would love to hear these guys in a better venue though i am partial to small, intimate places so maybe just another bar where the sound guy actually stays in the sound booth. For $5 i am glad i went, I'd see these guys again, especially since this was their first live show and there's no denying that the guys had some jitters.
Good job fellas.
1 comment:
good review. i like the word picture of all the "terrible's". Is this drews band?
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