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Edinburgh Castle January 3, 2003 Review by Jake Thomas A damn fine evening of local rock bands at the Edinburgh Castle. I had no idea that these bands were so popular, but they certainly brought the headcount up to a much higher number than I would have ever expected. Not that it takes a ton of people to fill up the band room at the castle, but it's still a great thing to see the locals supporting their scene. The Moggs were first. Or is it just Moggs, with no 'The'? I think it's just Moggs, but it's one of those names where you always want to add on the definite article. Anyways, this was my first time seeing them, and they were great. I had heard some snippets of their songs on their website (I hate snippet MP3's, for anyone that's keeping score). I liked what I heard, so I made sure I was there early enough to check them out. They are just a two piece with a guy playing guitar and a girl drummer, and they remind me a whole hell of a lot of Unwound and Sonic Youth (the good, structured stuff, not the experimental stuff that I'm not smart enough to understand). Anything that reminds me of Unwound can be nothing but a good thing. Bottom line - they were great, and I look forward to seeing them again next time they play around. According to my sources, they've been working on their album for years and years and it still isn't done - so if any of you out there know them, let's prod them along into completing this opus so those of us out there who really like their show can have a little souvenir to listen to at home. The middle slot was occupied by Lower 48. I saw them last summer at the Noise Rock Picnic that happened at Toxic Beach, and like what I heard. From what information I have gathered, that was the last show they played before this one because they lost their bassist. Given that they are playing their first show in six months and it's with a new bassist, I wasn't expecting it to be their best outing possible. Fortunately, I was wrong, and they were super tight, like the proverbial well-oiled machine, sounding like a band that was just coming off a long country-wide tour. They certainly brought the rock and I was pleased I had put my earplugs in my pocket. They play a mathy/post punk type of music with a little metal thrown in there, and they do it well. I can't really cite any particular bands they sound like, cause this isn't the type of music I usually listen to; but the bottom line is that it's good stuff if you like heavy rock music. The big finish was with Replicator. A little sloppy maybe, but it sounded good to me. They always get compared to Shellac, and there are some similarities in their recorded material, but their live show is quite different. Since I know Conan, the guitarist/singer, I may be biased, but I think they put on one of the better shows out of all the local bands in the area. Very much into crowd participation, they tend to wander into the audience from time to time, jump around like they got fire ants in their undies on stage, and generally bring the good times on the stage into the crowd. At one point the drummer, Chris, broke his snare and proceeded to make sure it was real damn broke by the time he got finished beating his high hat. Good times all around, I say. As a bonus, their set was being video taped for future air date as part of the Burn My Eye series, which I believe airs every first Wednesday at midnight. Well, I guess it's technically Thursday, but you know what I'm saying. No need to be so nit picky. Get off my back already! Geez. --- Read our previous Replicator review: May 30, 2001 @ Bottom of the Hill ©2003 playinginfog.com |