Lee Bains and the Glory Fires

So I went out and saw some live music last night...for the first time in forever, everything worked, no one cancelled, it wasn't sold out (it really wasn't sold out, more on that later), tickets were there where they were supposed to be, car worked, etc....and it was so, so, so fun.

The bill was headed up by Citay, whom I've seen once before, a couple of years ago, and who is still playing mostly stuff from Dream Get Together which I reviewed for Dusted, so that was familiar and damn, were they tight. They have switched at least one guitar player...but sound essentially the same, a sharp, sunny groove, full of sudden attacks and dead stops...the one new song seemed darker, churnier, more funk and soul influenced...there's a new record coming on Strange Attractors, I think. I'd like to hear it.



P.G.Six also played, drawing heavily from his Starry-Mind LP from last year (which I also reviewed for Dusted, see here)...and was, by a little, the best band of the night. It was a full band, Gubler himself, plus a guitar player, bassist and drummer, and it really opened out the sound, very Neil Young, totally great.



I wasn't crazy about Trummors, the only band on the bill that I wasn't at least marginally familiar with. They had some cool instruments, lap steep, pump organ...but the two-guitar thing kept slipping out of sync and the harmonies were off. It's kind of a sleepy, folky music anyway, and after a week of getting up at 5:30 a.m., it would have had to have been really good (I'm thinking Vetiver) to make an impression.

But the big find of the night was opener Lee Bains and the Glory Fires, an Alabama-based garage rock band whose lead singer was once in the Dexateens. They have a new album called There Is a Bomb in Gilead out on Alive Records, which I bought on the strength of the show...and am looking forward to cracking open...my favorite song in the show was "Magic City Stomp!" but of course that is not the one they're giving away. How about "Centreville" instead:



Sort of discouraging, one of the best shows I've seen in years was lightly attended, maybe ten people tops who weren't in one of the four bands. But also kind of impressive that none of the bands did any sandbagging, all played mostly for each other, but as if there were 100 ardent fans listening. They can't have made gas money though. The moral: go see a show.