19 Jun 10

Hey, blogspot readers, SouthSide's back at the Elbo Room for another rockin' Saturday night of fun and music. The newly revamped upstairs lounge was host to another addition of Brad Cole's Acoustic Circus. This singer/songwriter extravaganza featured performances by Jenny Bienemann, Sarah Donner, and T-Bird Magera. Visit www.bradcolemusic.com for next month's circus lineup and/or more information.

Meanwhile downstairs...

SouthSide took a journey on a the eclectic music side to review performances by Pandorum (jazz/world music fusion), Always The Villain (rock/alternative) and The Plastic Boots (electrified country/western rock). She highly suggests checking out Pandorum for its wondrous yet soulful ...heavily classical-inspired jazz/world fusion within a rock sounding repetoire. To put it very plainly, it was instrumental music which needed no lyrics to make you feel inspired. It would be the type of music if the great composers (i.e. Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Beethevon, etc) were alive and rockin' the new millennium with their wizardy of electronica sound. And with the lighting effects running in sync (thanks to Pep), Pandorum's songs such as A Change of Seasons and Madrid seemed to explode to life each time a note or riff was played. Also SouthSide has to make a special mention to Hannah Ford on drums. She was smokin' hot rockin' the kit that kept the music poppin' within its vibrant rhythms. SouthSide did enjoy Pandorum's cover of Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time but felt the vocal singing took away the awesomeness and beauty this instrumental cover presented to the audience. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/pandorumtheband.

Tonight, they weren't the bad guys with rockin' music like theirs. Always The Villain rocked the Elbo Room crowd with their self-titled CD Release show. SouthSide was told before the performance began that it was nearly an hour from start to finish when performing all 13 tracks. What surprised this reviewer was the complete turnaround in ATV's rock sound from the last time she saw this band a year ago. They didn't quite lose the "man balls" rock (as she like to dub their music because the hardcore guitar sound would grab you by the balls) feel and tone heard within their songs. Oh no, it's still in there but not much of a focal point in their core rock genre. The "new" ATV has a slight pop sound (due to the addition of keyboard rhythms) yet retains an alternative rock groove with an edgier feel (due to the guitars) in the music. So, blogspot readers, ATV at any time ...at any moment can switch from pop/alternative to a hardcore man rock at the slightest whim. Not saying it's a bad thing but it shows this band's willing to be more diverse within their music and song. And this self-titled CD Release performance demonstrated just that. SouthSide suggests checking out track 2 - Andy (for its keyboard rhythms which doesn't overpopulate it into a poppy song but the guitars keep this song within its edgier tone ...plus Billy's vocals project plenty of vocal angst) ...track 4 - What It Is (louder ...angrier than ATV's previous songs before this one ...it rocked the crowd with its energy and vibrant sound off the riffs) ...and track 11 - Twilight (not about sparkly vamp wannabes not with the bluesy sound off the harmonics found in this song ...plus the downtempo feel in the music gave it a darker tone and sound *shivers* - real vampire-like music). SouthSide highly suggests checking out Always The Villain as well as snagging a copy of their self-titled CD. For more information, visit www.alwaysthevillain.com or www.myspace.com/alwaysthevillain.

SouthSide found The Plastic Boots and its electrified country/alternative sound quite interesting, blogspot readers. This trio exploded onto the Elbo Room stage with bursts of vibrant energetic sound with their opening song though needing a smoother finish at the end. This reviewer enjoyed the soulful vocals rockin' the microphone in which was fueled by the music itself - plenty of passion and fire to be heard and felt from both band and vocalist. This exciting combination kept the audience momentum riding high and hungry for more after each song. TPB had the type of music/songs that made you want to groove to their electrified country two-step slide especially during the instrumental bridges. Plus, there were moments in which the guitars fed this lively audience a dirty guitar vibe off the riffs ...just how this reviewer likes her country music sometimes. And it wasn't just straight country either, there was a bit of blues and western to appease the eclectic fan of both. Overall, SouthSide highly suggests checking out The Plastic Boots for its rockin' electrified country sound that will have you demanding for more. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/theplasticbootsband.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide