The Velvet Teen

Everyone hates show reviews, at least according to Abby Myers, so I won't be reviewing the One for the Team / Askeleton / The Velvet Teen show per se here.

I got really into The Velvet Teen in the later spring/early summer of '04 when I got their CD Out of the Fierce Parade. There's nothing particularly revolutionary about the disc--it falls squarely into the vein of guitar-driven indie-rock, but it stands out for Judah Nagler's incredible falsetto vocals and signature melodies. I can't explain its significance for me without saying it was simply the right album at the right time--I was going through a turbulent time in my life, and Parade's rock solid, well, rock was something to hold on to.

Their last disc, Elysium was critically feted, but I never really got into it. I've decided to go back and check it out again after last night's show. They drew heavily on the recently released Cum Laude, but were gracious enough to reach back for "Radiapathy" from Parade and "Count Backwards" from their first EP, The Great Beast February.

The overwhelming thing about the show was the intensity of it all. Sometimes I'm naive enough to think that there's no way for a power trio to do something to me that hasn't been done before, but they absolutely poured every once of themselves into the music in such an unself-conscious way that it was impossible to resist. Their new drummer Casey Deitz was an absolute monster behind the kit, driving every song up against the wall so Nagler and bassist/vocalist Josh Staples could deliver body blows.

But saying it was all about the intensity isn't exactly right because there are plenty of intense bands that don't get at me the way these guys do. I think it's the marriage of total abandon to crystalline melodic structure that gets to me, plus their obvious repsect for the craft of making music. Nagler sang through a bullhorn at times, sometimes mic'ed, sometimes un-mic'ed, and when he'd sing through the bullhorn into a side mic while still singing through the regular vocal mic, the effect was instantly impressive. There were a lot of loops as well, probably running from Nagler's laptop, but it was all done in such an unfussy way that you hardly even noticed. Not to mention that the three musicians onstage were generating enough energy to eclipse any notion that the loops were taking up any slack.

Just a simple incredible show. They're heading out on tour with Russian Circles, P.O.S. and Minus the Bear for a couple of weeks, and you should really do yourself a favor and catch this bill. There's not a bad band in the bunch.

And by the way, Askeleton was pretty damned good, too. Lately, Knol and crew have been playing with a very trad rock lineup of two guitars, bass and drums, and seeing Askeleton in this kind of setting makes you appreciate the strength of the tunes, which hold up remarkably well without all the bells and whistles. Not to mention the new tunes I heard were fantastic, demonstrating Knol's recent trend towards simplicity and repetition. It's a completely made-over band from the one I first saw at the Turf Club nearly two years ago, and it's great to see a band really evolve, rather than just hone their sound.

Plus, I saw that guy Ghostwolf. He's everywhere these days.