Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Margot&tNS&S's, Emery Byrd, The Roman Spring @ The Casbah 11/22/07

After the Oasis documentary, I headed down to the Casbah for The Roman Spring, Emery Byrd, and Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. Even though I've been to shows that had all of these bands on the bill, somehow they had all eluded me until now.

The Roman Spring was up first. They are pretty straightforward indie rock with 3 geezers my age (wink, wink) and fronted by a guy born in the late 1980's(!). I really enjoyed the performance and it seemed the people who showed up early enough to catch them did, too. The sound was great (no earplugs required) and the singer has a nasal-but-not-annoying voice. The only suggestion I would make to The Roman Spring (and I told them this, too) is that the members should be more active in the songwriting. In one particular song, the rhyme is predictable and the lyrics can use a little more depth. As the band develops, I know they will get there. The Roman Spring is playing at the Zombie Lounge on Friday and might also be playing a quick miniset THE SAME NIGHT at the Beauty Bar...

I'm not really sure how I've completely missed Emery Byrd (myspace here)but I'm glad I finally saw them. They are pretty poppy to be sure, but I was definitely into it in the way I liked Jellyfish way back when. The singer has great stage presence and the whole band was solid all the way through. Looking through their website, you can see who they've been playing with and the local acclaim they've received and realize that I'm just the idiot that never paid attention.

Last up was Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. I came to their show at the Casbah when they played with the Grates but missed them. I was at Street Scene when they played but was stuck waiting for my sometimes impossible brother-in-law. This time I saw them and it made me disappointed that I missed them before. The band has 7 people onstage...the singer/guitarist, a second guitar, a bass, keys, drums, a dude on trumpet and then a guy in the bad doing "other percussion"- a huge marching band drum, cymbals, tambourines, etc. That guy goes off. I was surprised by how full the Casbah was, but once I heard the band, I ceased to be surprised...again, it was just me being clueless. I also have to comment that not only do they have one of the coolest busses I've ever seen (a mid-size school bus painted army green), but they have the merch thing down. Girlie tees, guys tees, a long sleeved shirt, the CD, a 7" vinyl, and A CREDIT CARD SCANNER. I am cheap, I don't carry wads of cash in my pocket and I won't use an ATM that charges me a service charge, but if I can use my ATM to buy merch after closing my tab, I cannot say no, especially when you wanna throw some love to an awesome band. I walked away with the long sleeved shirt and the CD.

All in all, another unexpected show of three bands that I will specifically seek out to see play again.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Where do you get the energy for all of these shows after working all day??

I feel older and older every time I read another review.

Rosemary Bystrak said...

I take naps. Very long naps. I also knew today was going to be an early day with a 2 hour potluck so it's a cakewalk.