Finn Riggins
Jared Mees and the Grown Children
Spaceland - March 10, 2010
F it. This is my review, and I’m just gonna say it: All bands should have lights on their drum sets. Yeah. Mmm. Deal with it.
Well, I’ll relent. Maybe not all bands. Like, serious metal bands, it might ruin their cred. But most bands should seriously think about it. It makes everything so magical!
There is something magical and intriguing about Jared Mees and The Grown Children, who gave me the drum set idea. The five piece band has so much energy, so many smiles, and a variety of well-dressed loyal fans. Sometimes they go a bit overboard and get off tempo from each other, but that’s just how excited they are to be playing, and it never lasts for more than a beat or two.
Mees may be part of the band’s name, but Megan Spear, the co-singer, is responsible for a lot of that musical liveliness. She’s extraordinarily cute in her little dress and tights and when she’s not shaking her tambourine like it’s judgment day, she’s on the keyboards, or the extra tom drum, or on the xylophone, or switching places with Quilty, the bassist. I very much enjoyed their eight song set; they’re a funky band of smarts and happiness. Be sure to catch them at SXSW if you’re there.
After them came Finn Riggins, for whom I had to abandon my stool in front of the stage. Not that they weren’t great, they were just VERY loud. After their first song, Lisa Simpson, the singer and guitarist, told the audience that there were free earplugs on their merch table. Now, you may not know this, but Spaceland is one of the loudest venues in Los Angeles. This combined with a loud band makes for music that might have dislocated a rib or two of mine.
Once I had settled into a more comfortable location a bit further from the speakers, I was able to enjoy this band that seems more jam session that serious concert oriented. Eric Gilbert takes on two large synths, and Cameron Bouiss has an amalgamation of a regular drum set and a steel drum. They were also high energy, though in a different way, less silly, more casual; more nerd rock look with experimental sound.
My favorite was a song where they repeated a set of zeros and ones. The crowd was most pleased. I was in my element.
Finn Riggins will also be at SXSW. Be sure to check them out as well, and partake of their earplugs if you do. |
|
