Lovemound, The Greenlady Killers, Ziroh @ The Surly Wench

Before we get started, let me leave you with instructions. If I am ever the middle aged guy, with the hawaiian shirt, air guitaring during someone's set, don't ask questions just shoot me. With that said-

Phoenix's ZIROH...an instrumental band. Pretty much a dropped tuned jam band. Not that there's anything wrong with that, Black Sabbath was basically the same thing and that's not a bad band to be compared to. Their songs aren't the usual 10 minute compositions of usual instrumental bands. They rock quick and hard with their songs seemingly structured for vocals. However, the instrumentation of the songs don't lack vocals. The group didn't sound like a band lacking a singer. My personal favorite of the set was "Kyuss."...B

I dare anyone to hear "Get On The Dancefloor" and not at least tap a toe to The Green Lady Killers. I strongly suggest you catch a GLK show soon, it's quite an experience. Lady Van Buren switches between smiles and scowls, screams and sweet melodies. Annie Venom slinks across the stage as well as her fret board, sending piercing looks into the audience and to her bandmates, with a prescence that I can only describe as Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) on X (for those needing to know...this is a great thing). The drummer, Cherry Bomb, does what many drummers fail to do- keep a strong, driving, steady beat. She did this all while adding an array of vocal textures to the songs and celebrating the glorious nature of unicorns (they do exist). On this particular evening, things didn't get going till about half way through the set, when Lady Van Buren announced with a tinge of embarrasement a "new pop song" entitled "Beautiful Loser." The new song launched the trio into overdrive. It highlighted the joy of a GLK show- the audacity of punk attitude, and to retain that attitude to say I'm going to play something pretty, now fuck off!...B+

I've been a big fan of LOVEMOUND for sometime now...



Lovemound is simple- a big wall of guitar sound a la ZZ Top with a bass player who likes to set up residency in the higher octaves of the neck. For my money, you simply can't go wrong with that. I wish there was more to say, other than the set was tight and consistent, but that's the allure of the band...rock and roll- intense, simple and fun. The highlight of the set, I must admit, was the band's cover of Hendrix's (I didn't recognize the song and I had to ask) "Messege To Love." Covers are a tricky thing, and Lovemound did it perfectly. You could hear the strong Hendrix sound, but at the same time there was no denying that they retained their own personal sound on their homage. If they would not have announced it as a cover, I would have believed it to be another one of their own sonic anthems.. A

It was a great night! Any one of these bands would have made the night worth the price of admission, but to have all three rock the night away left me proud of the AZ scene. Kudos to the booker!