Sent to me by A. Non Imus:
Wow, where do I start... I got a pass to this Miller Lite sponsored shindig (and thanks for the free beer Mr. Miller...) and since I've been too busy to review anybody, I decided to take a night off and catch a couple of sets. Now of course, the PA was on the house, and if you've been there, you know it's gonna make some noise. So I really won't comment too much on the sound, except for individual achievement here and there. PapaWood took the stage first, and lead singer Nathan was in full costume looking ghoulish as can be. (Check out photos @ http://hotspotsofsanantonio.com/adpage.aspx?adid=events some time in the near future...) They opened with
"Somebody Told Me" by The Killers, and as you're starting to think.... "Oh great, another dance band..." those of you who have seen their show before know they just kill this song. It's great to hear a danceable song done with more edge than the original. That's what makes PapaWood great. They hit all the notes, seriously they hit 'em all, but still manage to make every song their own. Part of it is Nathan's voice which has matured a lot since the last time I saw them. He seems to effortlessly switch from a crisp clear tone, to a grainy growl or nasty scream and back again with ease. He really has learned to use his instrument well. Spade (Bass) is so technically proficient, it is like watching a clinic on how to play bass. He isn't the most active guy on stage, but having a good bass line is so important, and he never missed a lick, and through the numerous Tool and Chili Pepper covers they did, he played them all perfectly. Todd's rhythm guitar likewise is dead on. His harmonies are flawless, and his voice plays a perfect compliment to Nathan's. Dave's lead guitar is in a word... Sick. Sanitarium by Metallica was absurd. I have only seen one guy in San Antonio (in a cover band) kill those fingerboarding parts like that as well as him. I'll give you all three guesses who that is... Dave is also quite the showman, I'd like to see his chiropractic bill from all that head banging. Dave, you freakin' rock. And last but not least, Fred on the Drums. Fred's combination of technical playing and raw intensity with great backing vocals is just amazing. The double bass parts of every song they do were executed perfectly, and the kit sounded very well rounded out. The song selection was varied, and even when they would step outside the "Rock-Box" and do some Maroon-5, they rocked it out. The tone in the guitars and bass was dead on, these guys have obviously been doing this a very long time and it shows. I like to sit and try to hear things that just aren't right, and this is the wrong band to do that with. You will waste your time, just enjoy it. I give ratings from 1-5 stars.... Tonight, PapaWood was at 5 stars without a doubt. Look forward to seeing them again soon.
Jawbreaker was next to take the stage. I hadn't ever seen them before but heard the lead singer was not only hot but had a great voice, so I stuck around. Well, she may have been hot, but she looked like a quarterback complete with helmet tonight!!! Image-wise, these guys look like a party band so I was very interested to see if they would really bring it. I gotta admit, I was clueless about half the time as to what song they were playing or who it was by, probably because with a female lead you're not gonna be doing a lot of music that requires singing notes in a male's lower register. So I was really trying to overlook that. But then I noticed the drummer had a head set on and when they broke into "Scottie Doesn't Know" I thought I would hear something.... Nothing... Either his mic was off or something was wrong, because all we could hear was the lead singer's voice in the chorus. Then as the night progressed, I started to notice my personal pet peeve NUMERO UNO.... Backing Tracks, Midi-Files, whatever term you wish to use. I am old school, and believe if you can't play it, don't... Or do the best you can with what you've got. I started hearing multiple keyboard parts while nobody was at the keyboards, what sounded like multiple guitar parts with one guitar on stage, and then the big moment of the night when most of the musicians in the house (and there were many) just went pale in the face... Closer by Nine Inch Nails came on. Folks, I have heard this song as many times as you... And let me tell you what I heard last night from the "drum kit" was so good, and sounded so perfect and synthesized, not a person in that room believed for a second that his kit was making that sound. The percussion in that song cannot be duplicated without a lot of electronic help (Not to mention the drummers arms bringing down this thunderous smack of the skin, was not exactly in-sync with what we were hearing). Many people were saying how they believed they were using the actual track from NIN, and with what I was hearing, I would seriously have trouble disagreeing with those people. It is very difficult to single out individual talent when your mind is pre-occupied with listening for midi-files, but I really should say that the lead singer's voice is quite good. She went from a deep scream to a crystal clear tone in one song, and had perfect pitch throughout the night. The guitar player was more than proficient, which is why I was wondering why they didn't just let him play and not worry about second and third guitar parts. You don't need a backtrack for that (Ask Burndown). I truly couldn't tell when the bass player was playing, or not, half the time. So I will hopefully catch up with you guys someday in the future and take a closer listen, maybe when you leave the keyboard that doesn't get played much, at home. Seriously, a note to the lead singer: Girl, you are damn good and you have a great voice and good image don't let midi-files leave people (especially your fellow musicians in San Antonio) talking smack about your band. And although I heard a lot of bad things being said about the use of backing tracks, nobody had anything but good things to say about you. I give Jawbreaker 2 out of 5 stars as a unit, although the lead vocalist was much better.
A. Non. Imus
Covering San Antonio's music scene since 2005