Doctopus/Apache/Erasers
The Rosemount
Friday, October 18, 2013
Those who stayed outside with the starkly different, dance/pop music instead of joining in the rocky, bluesy, country, garage band, indie, electro soundscape of musical delights inside at the OWM EP launch party should be kicking themselves right now for missing out on a talent filled show.
Electronic two-piece Erasers were the first delightful cab off the rank, treating the crowd to a very special soundtrack often reminiscent of Dead Can Dance. The light and airy melodies created with guitar, loops, keys and samplers shifted into spatial, atmospheric hums and beats, with emotive almost Arabic-like vocals. This intriguing sound was well received by their peers, who experienced the experimental vibe and probably got the creative juices flowing. Theirs was a set that will be and should be remembered for some time, not to be easily erased.
The lively bunch of feisty and frenetic rockers, Apache brought piles of energy into the night, with their raucous, Strokes-esque vocalist thrashing around to the point of getting tied up in the mic chord. But that certainly was not going to slow these guys down any, and as the beefy drums kicked it up a notch, some drawl was added to the vocals, fitting in nicely with their dirtier, grungy moments. Their final song of the set began with some creative rim shot drumming, which sounded like a bug scuttling eerily across the stage. This was offset perfectly with the thick as hell, groovy bass tones and the Voodoo Chile chorus riff, Hendrix homage ending.
Well known for their relaxed garage band style, those slippery little suckers known as Doctopus, or should I say Dr Chicken as they jokingly renamed themselves for the night, kept up their end of the bargain, displaying some throwaway style, heavier tunes. The band produced an amusing, boisterous, and entertaining set, however the vocal precision did take the back seat in exchange for some of the antics and more intricate bass moments.
In ye olde hootenanny style, Oh White Mare began their set with a strange yet interesting country rock song, complete with heated monologuing like a drunk, angry Irish man. Both lead and backup singers had an amazing set of pipes, with their strong vocals bouncing off the walls, especially during the Dead Weather style song about obituaries. Oh White Mare really know how to mix it up, with harmonicas, keyboards, and even a tambourine being thrown into the ring. Unable to be tamed into just one genre, the band kept the now dancing crowd on their toes by flitting around from homey, country style songs with brilliant harmonica break downs like Amber Fresh Say’s Don’t Worry, to solid indie rock, and even some grungier rock tunes. Oh White Mare are still a relatively new band, so they are certainly ones to keep an eye on as their music and thoroughly enjoyable live performances progress even further.
_ LIANA KELLY
