Last night I was at home at around 8 o'clock, stringing my guitar,(actually more like fighting to get the eyeholes from the strings to push down through the bridge, cut my hand in this process... long story) and I was debating of whether to go out to this show in Durham. It was rainy. It was pitch black outside. It was in Durham and I live in Wake Forest.
Gas is expensive, but music is good. So around 8:45 I am rolling down I40, listening to Brick House by the Commodores and thinking, "Geez this is not going to be worth it, I can just sense a bomb of a night in music tonight..." I got to the coffee house and filed in quietly, the show said 9... but in typical indie fashion, you know that no one even shows up until 30mins after the show time. I got myself a cup of black coffee and found a comfy chair to do what I love to do most, observe human interaction.
Around 9:45ish the band decided it was time to play and got on stage, I had finished my coffee which I will admit I put one too many Sweet N Low's in... and headed up towards the stage. First thing I noticed was the guitarists Gibson (I am a guitar tech freak) and wondered why there was so much tape on it, I summed it up to him just liking duct tape.
Their Presence:
The lead vocalist, whose name is Jason, has a very Bruce Springsteen-ish sound to him. It sounds like the guy who works in the record store, has been there for years, and knows everyone's name. His voice is comfortable. His voice has that common man tone to it. The drummer was like any good drummer, tall, lanky, full of sweat and consistant. The bassist who with her long blonde hair and bass swagger(that is a term I have developed to describe what all bass players seem to get instantly once they find their groove) looked much reminiscent of D'Arcy from the ever godly SP... except she was happy... and in love, with the vocalist. I could tell by the way they looked at each other. It made for great stage connection. The final piece of this puzzle of a band was the lead guitarist... his name is Mike, and apparently it was his birthday. GRATZ! He showed me why he had tape on his guitar, he flailed around in classic punk fashion like he was being attacked by a swarm of japanese killer bee's.
Their Sound:
Sometimes when you hear a song you cannot relate... you feel alienated from those feelings or emotions. Red Collar is the exact opposite. Every one of their songs feels like you have heard it a million times and still love it. Their music has that American feel like Bruce Springsteen or James Taylor... but has that hardcore Minor Threat / Fugazi tempo coupled with the Ian McKaye guitar sound. The keyboards layers into it with a My Bloody Valentine background that breathes fresh air into oftenly rehashed punk rhthym. They have a warm sense of inviting musical commraderie that drives into you, grabs you and does not let go. When they pull the cable from their amp, drop their drumsticks, switch off the mics, and unplug the keyboard, you feel like you were just dropped to the floor from a kiss by a beautiful musical giant.
Overall:
I have a graph to represent this:
Hehe you can see I am horrible with MS paint.
Their website info is:
http://www.redcollarmusic.com/
- vince
