Spring Break
Chum's provides "A Good Front" for rock music
by Kate Gardiner
Music | 3/6/07
Posted online at 10:52 PM EST on 3/5/07
I came early to Cholmondeley's Saturday night and watched the crowd waiting for the upcoming performances-it was Purim, so some people were in costume-and the second barista didn't show up on time. They were out of pitas. Then cheese. One of the band members (Alicia Cattaneo, drums, A Good Front) got out Guess Who? and started playing with a girl in a spiked mohawk, pre-gaming as it were. I bought an O.K. cappuccino and stood around with my camera, hoping something would happen. The organizers finally figured out the PA system and someone hooked in a decent iTunes collection.
Around 9:30, the concert finally got going: The first act, Mykim Dang, an acoustic girl-with-guitar act from Emerson. Dang was pretty good, a sweet, quiet little voice and a comparatively big acoustic guitar. After a bit of a wait, Sabrina Stone '08 was up, a slight reorganization of the lineup as the lead singer for Kissing Electric missed his commuter rail and had to be retrieved from North Station. Stone, a pretty brunette with a well-used, shiny-dirty black guitar, played acoustic rock, featuring a great voice and enjoyable lyrics. The crowd didn't seem to really be there with her, mostly talking, laughing and eating instead, possibly because so many new people were coming in the door.
After Stone, another wait, and Barnett finally appeared, looking positively yummy in a lavender shirt and coiffed pompadour. The band took the stage a few minutes later and immediately started jamming. Kissing Electric refers to their songs as "sexually-driven," and so they are-lyrics emphasizing the taste and smell and whatever of the opposite sex are a major theme. The sound, as heralded by one of the editors at the Berklee Grove "is like a supercharged erotic fantasy courtesy of a posh, designer-drug cocktail." It is '80s synth, spiced with VHS or Beta, Duran Duran and a touch of The Killers.
The bassist, Grant Himmler, and the drummer, Matt Sanchez, were practically partying on stage, while the synth man Joe LaChance was less enthusiastically clonking along on excellent synth lines; the tone of the music overrode the depressed body language on his face. The set was pretty much non-stop for about 45 minutes, and the band's energy level increased as they went on, despite the sweat dripping down Barnett's face. There were shouts of "Encore!" from the crowd at the end, but because of the delays, there was no time, though the enthusiasm was there.
Around 9:30, the concert finally got going: The first act, Mykim Dang, an acoustic girl-with-guitar act from Emerson. Dang was pretty good, a sweet, quiet little voice and a comparatively big acoustic guitar. After a bit of a wait, Sabrina Stone '08 was up, a slight reorganization of the lineup as the lead singer for Kissing Electric missed his commuter rail and had to be retrieved from North Station. Stone, a pretty brunette with a well-used, shiny-dirty black guitar, played acoustic rock, featuring a great voice and enjoyable lyrics. The crowd didn't seem to really be there with her, mostly talking, laughing and eating instead, possibly because so many new people were coming in the door.
After Stone, another wait, and Barnett finally appeared, looking positively yummy in a lavender shirt and coiffed pompadour. The band took the stage a few minutes later and immediately started jamming. Kissing Electric refers to their songs as "sexually-driven," and so they are-lyrics emphasizing the taste and smell and whatever of the opposite sex are a major theme. The sound, as heralded by one of the editors at the Berklee Grove "is like a supercharged erotic fantasy courtesy of a posh, designer-drug cocktail." It is '80s synth, spiced with VHS or Beta, Duran Duran and a touch of The Killers.
The bassist, Grant Himmler, and the drummer, Matt Sanchez, were practically partying on stage, while the synth man Joe LaChance was less enthusiastically clonking along on excellent synth lines; the tone of the music overrode the depressed body language on his face. The set was pretty much non-stop for about 45 minutes, and the band's energy level increased as they went on, despite the sweat dripping down Barnett's face. There were shouts of "Encore!" from the crowd at the end, but because of the delays, there was no time, though the enthusiasm was there.
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Alicia
posted 3/06/07 @ 7:05 PM EST
Yep, Saturday night had it's ups and downs. Lots of technical difficulties that will be ironed out this Wednesday as we're much more familiar with the venue. (Continued…)
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