By Michael T. Toole
I know I’m feeling my age with this statement, but we really have come a long way with our music scene. I remember 20 years ago being grateful for bands like Sonic Youth and Jesus and The Mary Chain playing at cool hideaways like Calamity Jayne’s or Paradise Island.
Now, things are a little brighter. In the last few years we have seen a keen flourish of effective venues for fine, almost-unknown bands. And no, I’m not talking about House of Blues or the Joint, where the watchful air of the overzealous security of the former and the sterile, generic ambience of the latter (not to mention the overpricing of both), never lets you escape the calculated eye of excessive profit that mars some of the better acts that play there.
Instead, I’m focusing on the more earnest, savvy places that serve those great “under-the-radar” bands that writers in the alt music mags talk up. The kind of bands that give youngsters a chance to indulge in one-upping their buddies as to see who’s in. The kind of bands that aren’t big now but will be, so you can sell your autographed memorabilia on eBay when they get big. And ultimately, the kind of bands that in tight quarters and bad lighting, really rock their ass off to earn whatever pretensions they might have in their lyrical posturing.
With new venues such as the Art Bar, the Beauty Bar, the Dive Bar and Celebrity Lounge, (that’s right Lounge; they can’t all be bars, I suppose) mixing with older standbys such as the Double Down and Cooler Lounge, plus the burgeoning popularity of music festivals such as Vegoose, we now have a serious scene in Las Vegas for up-and-coming, and even semi-established musicians.
How the 10 American bands (UK bands are “across the pond,” which gives them a better excuse for not stopping here) that I’ve listed have managed to avoid playing here is anyone’s guess, but I think it’s pointless to ask why. It would be a hell of a lot more productive to think of this list as a “shout out” for them to come here. The bands I’ve listed all have some common factors: they all have records, they have great live shows and have toured the country, you can spot any of their videos on the Internet via YouTube, they’ve been written up to varying extents in the alternative music press and you’ve more than likely heard their songs on Area 108 or 107.5 FM.
I’ve had the pleasure of seeing all of these bands live, and trust this, they sure know how to put on a show. And I’m a fan of all of them; it’s just that I’m a little tired of going to other cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Portland or Atlanta to catch them. Listen, I’ll even let them crash in my ratty apartment if they come to Vegas! So why prolong it any further? Here’s my list of 10 bands that should play here at least once.
One last thing: Feel free to disagree with my list – half of the fun is getting responses such as “you included ‘x’ but neglected to mention ‘y’!” Seriously, I need to be educated when I can.
1) Dandy Warhols (Portland, Ore.)
For most of you Dandy detractors out here, I get it. You saw the award-winning documentary “Dig!” and you think they pale in comparison to the Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandys are just posers. First, no matter what degree of truth that film might represent, I just don’t buy into the juvenile, overly linear argument of commercialism/bad, cult obscurity/good. Secondly, you have to be the most narrow-minded crank to completely deny some of the great music this Portland band has produced in the last 12 years. Few bands play with the variety and dexterity that the Dandys do on stage, and the dedication to good lip service they give to other Portland acts whenever they play could give us a lesson on how to develop camaraderie among musicians in our city.
2) Von Bondies (Detroit)
Detroit wonders the Von Bondies broke big in 2004 with “Pawn Shoppe Heart.” With a lead-off single “C’mon, C’mon” that was used for the title sequence in Dennis Leary’s hit show, “Rescue Me,” a raucous altercation with the White Stripes’ Jack White at a nightclub that reaped huge publicity, and a national tour to promote their record, it seemed as if their huge sound and advanced press would make them a natural for Vegas. But that didn’t happen, and has yet to. ’Tis a shame, because if you were to catch their fierce live show, I guarantee you’d be dead-ass tired with all the fist pumping and jubilant shouting that marks the best kind of garage rock energy and audience participation.
3) Voyager One (Seattle)
Lead singer Peter Marchese, originally from Las Vegas, moved to Seattle several years ago to find some musicians who shared his love of arty, old-school British shoegazing (My Bloody Valentine, Swervedriver). The results have been three albums’ worth of indecipherable vocals, swirling guitars, an undercurrent of horns, and dense keyboards that would make any fan of this genre pant with anticipation. Also, their live shows, which come complete with a visual presentation of carved-up stock footage and recontextualized public domain movies, only accentuates the band’s teasing, artful outlook on things. A recent opening slot for the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club raised their stock considerably. And if you’re lucky, you’ll find footage of them on that tour on the Web.
4) Abandoned Pools (Los Angeles)
Abandoned Pools is really a Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist and singer named Tommy Walter. Although unfairly labeled in the Emo set, Walter really is a terse songwriter with a sharp sense of delivery. And his shows, which of course have a full backing band, always consist of strong sets with well-placed modulations of tempos, from brassy to quiet, from frenzied to nuanced. Rumor has it that a new album will be coming out soon. Maybe he’ll put Vegas on his agenda if and when he hits the road again.
5) Oranger (San Francisco)
This Bay Area trio have been reproducing and improving upon classic psychedelic rock for nearly a decade. With their intoxicating brew of languid vocals, skittish guitar attack, and slick production, Oranger produces music that is immediately bristling, thought-provoking and -- I’ll say it -- groovy. Reservations are waiting for you guys when you feel like visiting.
6) Freezepop (Boston)
’80s synth appreciators have never had such charming representatives as Boston’s Freezepop. Playing their instruments on old Yamaha sequencers, Freezepop manages to combine off-kilter riffs, not-too-overly kitschy lyrics and lead singer Liz Enthusiasm’s coy-kitten vocals to make for one of the more intriguing bands you’ll ever encounter live. In fact, their shows aren’t so much a live act as they are hanging out with some madly inventive teenagers kicking around with newly discovered instruments in your parents’ garage.
7) Mates of State (Lawrence)
Lawrence, Kan., home of the University of Kansas, is the land of some of the most innovative bands to ever spring from a collegiate stamping ground. Groups such as The Embarrassment, Paw, and The Anniversary are just a few names in the Lawrence pantheon of “could have been contenders.” The next outfit in this lineage is the duo known as Mates of State. Although they’ve recently moved to San Francisco, there’s a raw freshness to their sound that harks back to their Midwestern roots: emotive, rustic harmonies, skeletal but effective song arrangements, and nurturing pop sensibility. A must-see if they ever play live here.
8) BitterSweet (Los Angeles)
The new darlings of L.A.'s electronica set. This duo of vocalist Shana Halligan and producer/sound sculptor Kiran Shahani create pulsating, rhythmically compulsive tracks that have had many a late night clubgoer ignore any self-imposed curfew as they blissfully groove until dawn. Why haven't they played Vegas? Maybe there isn't a club in town that can fit their outsized talent and elan. At any rate, this is arguably the best non-narcotic high you could get on a Friday night.
9) The Upsidedown (Portland, Ore.)
Of all the bands coming out of Portland hot on the heels of the Dandy Warhols and the Decemberists, few can rival The Upsidedown for cheeky spunk and memorable tunes. One listen to their album, “Trust Electricity,” and you’ll quickly realize that they’ve got the neo-folk, psychedelic pop-rock blend down to the inch. Although they’ve yet to play here, give them time, they know potential fans await in Las Vegas.
10) Casper & The Cookies (Athens, Ga.)
One of the pleasures of living in Atlanta a few years ago was driving to Athens (just an hour away if you’re lead-footed) and just getting drunk from all the great music there. There are more first-rate musicians plying their trade on the streets of downtown Athens than there are senior citizens draining their Social Security checks in a downtown Vegas casino. Jumping out of the pack is the down-home Casper & The Cookies. Combining skewered pop hooks (not unlike XTC), tight playing, funny (but never cloying) demeanor, and the ability to make odd song titles like “Neo Dada Hey Day” and “Barking in the Garden of Ill Repute” actually sound relevant to your daily walk of life, certainly makes Casper & the Cookies a band worth seeking out if only to gauge their nuttiness.
Freelance writer Michael T. Toole was raised in Las Vegas and knows what music Vegans need! Tell him who you’d add to his Top 10 list at [email protected]