Anyway, the openers tonight were called The 71s.  Mostly what you need to know about them is the old “everybody clap” routine.  If you hate that routine and don’t want to be told to clap then this might not be the band for you.  If you don’t roll your eyes every time you see this lame routine, then The 71s still have a chance with you.  Once a band starts that routine, I tune them out, unless I really love their music and can forgive them despite it.  So, let’s say, you don’t mind the old “everybody clap, hey are you having a good time, Houston?” routine.  Then your next obstacle is the 80s cover.   If you hate an originals band doing a Tears for Fears cover, then you will tune this band out and go get a drink, but if you’re cool with the Tears for Fears cover then you will be excited about The 71s.  Personally, I don’t care for originals bands doing insincere sounding covers.  Shit, what do I know, maybe Tears for Fears is their favorite band and this was a huge tribute for them.  But their other songs sounded more like Fuse, channel 339 or maybe the backing track to The Hills or something.  They did rock out a decent song toward the end of their set though.  They said it was a new one.  My advice is to continue in that direction.  It was more Foo Fighters meets Velvet Revolver than their other tunes.  It had some great dynamics with a cool bass line holding the fort.  I saw potential there.

Next up was The Mechanical Boy.  I’ve seen them before, but it’s been awhile.  Last I heard about them, Chris, their bassist was nominated for a Houston Press award as best bassist.  Seeing them tonight, I could understand why.  He’s amazing.  Unfortunately, his acrobatic bass parts nearly overshadow the rest of the band, almost like a Les Claypool or Flea .  The others seldom take the focus off of him, for long.  Tim, their singer, writes catchy melodies to songs, but they rarely culminate in the super-choruses I might remember tomorrow morning.  I keep wanting that chorus from them, but I guess I’ll have to accept that they’re not that kind of band.   Bonus points to them for playing in 7/4.

Last up was Electric Touch, a band I would compare to Kaiser Chiefs with a little extra Stones and T-Rex posturing thrown in for good measure.  Unfortunately, there was definitely something wrong with their bass sound because I couldn’t hear it.   They seemed to have their own sound people, so I guess that’s what it’s supposed to sound like, but it was really trebley to me.  At least the other guys sounded fine.  They didn’t play my favorite song, “Love In Our Hearts”, opting instead to play several (not one, but three!) Ramones covers at the end.  I already mentioned my feelings on originals bands playing covers, so I will stop bitching now, but damn, Electric Touch, you didn’t even play your best songs.

See you soon.