An oddity of shows

So kind of a different week for me as far as music goes.

Thurs 7/28 -- Hit the Uptown Bar for the free show of Spank Ray and Sofa Kingdom. There were a couple of other bands but I honestly wasn't paying the most attention. Saw half of Spank Rays set and its up beat guitar rock. Should have watched more. Sofa Kingdom is a good live band but I had a CDR of theirs and wasn't as impressed. Only caught a couple of their songs before leaving but have seen them more than a few times. Overall could have been a pretty damn good free show if I concentrated a bit more. I don't usually spend more time socializing outside htan in front of hte band, but thats kind of what happened.

Fri 7/29 -- Teenage Fanclub at First Ave. This band can get a pretty loud sound for being a pop band. Never get tired of the in between song banter because I love the scottish accent. I actually prefer Raymond's voice to Norman's but all three are very talented. Highlights of the show were Alcoholiday, Sparky's Dream and Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From. All the new stuff sounded great and it was defintely worth the ticket price.

Sat 7/30 -- Two shows actually. Started out at the free show at the Foundry. There I was able to catch Falcon Crest, RentMoneyBig (aka Supergender) and the Stnnng. Because of the time I thought this was going to be an outdoor show. I was wrong, they just set up in this cool dive bar and the regulars had to cross the bands to hit the bathroom, a couple of accidents almost happened. Falcon Crest always puts out a great sound. That band is always on and I enjoy catching them any chance I get. I'm a fan of RentMoneyBig and they are the main reason I went. Out of Lincoln, NE they have a great sound, lots of energy and an overall great preformance every time I've seen them. Wish I had more money to finally pick up the CD, one day it will happen. The Stnnng was the last act I saw and while I don't like them as much as the other two bands their still an act to catch. Chris is always all over the place with his vocals and energetic demeanor. The drums and guitar are very tight.

The Foundry show was an early one and was done around 10. From there I caught the last of Mark Mallman's 7 nights at the Hexagon. Again another free show only this one was packed. With them was Vicious Vicious. Both bands are the power pop type. Vicious Vicious' singer has a voice that reminds me of a cross between John from Cake and Kevin from Better Than Ezra. The vocals are good but the backing music is pretty bland for my tastes, though I see why people really enjoy their sets. Their show starts out a bit slow and eases into some more rockin songs that show the true potential of the band. Now if they can just take that and run with it, they could really make something of themselves. Mark Mallman puts on a pretty good show for that type of music. Climbing around while still playing piano and really pushing all he's got into it. I'm glad I was able to check out one of his nights despite being around a bunch of people that you could tell pretty much just wanted to be seen there.