The Palsies, Aesthetic Anasthetic, The Copyrights, Cicadia Wednesday, July 23, 2008, 3 Kings Tavern Better than: Talking to a schizophrenic on Broadway.
Quite a strange selection of music to be had at 3 Kings this evening. First, the club itself definitely lends itself to some loud rock and roll. Wednesday being my first show experience there, I had to say I was ready for some loud, fast, fist-pumping rock music.
Openers the Copyrights didn’t disappoint. The band, a four-piece from Carbondale, Illinois, played loud and played fast. Copyrights have been around for awhile now, but that doesn’t seem to have tempered their attack. Each song flew desperately into the next, with the bands three-pronged vocal attack taking the spotlight during most of the songs. The Copyrights appeased the audience with a set that made this critic feel like he was getting drunk on electricity. Give the band credit, they toy with melodies that are ridiculously catchy, but they also maintain an aggression and presence that pushes the majority of their songs over the edge.
With my ears ringing, I was expecting more of the same, but that was not to be. Amazingly, after the Copyrights pop-punk assault came Chicago’s Aesthetic Anasthetic, who plumed the depths of the already murky post-rock pool. Two guitar players and a drummer came together to make a set of songs that all went along with the same dynamic ebb and flow, with songs rarely going anywhere significant. Music like this can definitely be pleasurable (see Mogwai or Envy) when done right, but tonight, Aesthetic Anasthetic seemed more than content to plod along and noodle on to nowhere. What a strange band to have on this bill.
Getting back to the original theme of the night, Colorado’s Palsies took the stage and got back to the rock music that had been promised earlier in the night. With a brand of punk rock that sounds very much tailored to our fair city, the Palsies rocked the house like a whiskey kegger, giving the audience some awesome punk rock songs that both rocked and swung wildly for the fences. I am not sure why I have not heard of this band, but they made for a great live experience that is worth taking in again and again, like a swig of whiskey. Hopefully my pleasant headache is gone before I get to the office. -- Jeremy Brashaw
Critic’s Notebook Personal Bias: While Aesthetic Anasthetic do create some interesting moments, I am getting really tired of the repetitive instrumental music, especially live. Toss me a pillow. Random Detail: On this tour the Copyrights have temp replacements at drums and lead guitar; Ronnie from the Arrivals, and Justin from Chinese Telephones, respectively. By the Way: A band called Cicada opened the show. They sounded like an Iron Maiden cover band formed by a bunch of 16 year olds -- not that great.
