Dr. D and I arrived at The Launchpad just before 10 pm and The Fertile Crescent was on, playing real instruments, mind you. There were two guitarists (both employees at Winnings– and I had no idea they played in a band!), a bassist, and drummer. They all had keyboards in front of them. The first thing that struck me was the bass– an absolutely enviable tone– growly, deep, very sharp and punctuated. It is the bass sound of The Cure at their best. The lines were prominent and just smack in your face. Fantastic bass. Wonderful. I could of listened to it all night.
Their music was angular, jerky, crisp, interesting songs. Almost like a non-distorted math rock. The two guitars were so interwoven that you had to really look to see what each one was doing. The vocals were a breathy whisper that somehow sat well within all of the action. A counterpoint. Couldn’t hear what he was saying but I don’t think it was the point of the vocals.
There was a small but enthusiastic group of people up front and they were dancing in the most unusual way. You kind of had to dance strangely to this music, it forced you to. I saw one girl start the classic Molly Ringwald stay-in-place-skipping-while-swinging-the-arms-side-to-side (you know the move….) but then she abandoned it to do what nearly everyone else did– head down, arms bent and kind of shaking, like a well-lubed robot on crack. And everyone did it, like there was dance practice ahead of time. I swear it was interesting. Loved it.
On a side note, the world’s worst dancer was present. She took this angular music and interpreted in a shocking manner. Dr. D and I joked that if we were on stage we’d stop the song and just say into microphone, “You, out.” and point to the door. And as she left, dejected, we’d yell “Give her her money back!”
The band switched over to a series of keyboard songs and they were still excellent. Showing lots of range and incredible songwriting maturity, they kept me entranced in an entirely different way. The lovely bass was gone but I was still engaged. Dr. D was equally impressed.
The Fertile Crescent: serious thumbs up.
FULL ARTICLE HERE http://soniclightbulb.com/788/show-review-monster-paws-the-fertile-crescent-and-pre-recorded-music/
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