Venue:
Schubas (5/10)(Price range: 8$-15$): Schubas is what it is: a bar with a stage in back. I do love the place. The atmosphere is very relaxed. It’s the sort of place you can kick back with a beer and listen to local talent or small bands that aren’t quiet well known enough to open for anyone. The floor is lined with tables. Schubas is clean, which is nice and has a decent balance between the bar element and the stage element. There is an auxiliary bar toward the back of the stage area and the merch booth is squeezed in next to it just by the door. The stage feels a bit jerry rigged in places and security for the band is a bit lax, not that it’s needed for the sort of band that finds itself at Schubas. Allegedly they have food, but I’ve never seen it or where it’s served, so I will refrain from comment on that.
However, the sound quality is sub par at best and it really limits what a band can do on stage as all of the audio channels are set at the same volume: loud. The music is then pumped through sub par speakers.
I never saw the bathrooms so no marks on that.
The Crowd: (6/10) a sparse but lively bunch considering the fact that a) it was electronics rain out and b) the show was short notice. I’m sensing a cult following.
The Band: Makeshift Prodigy (7/10) I know a gal who works with them so I’d already been warmed up to them and they were no let down. Their recorded music is good; don’t get me wrong (review forthcoming). But live they really come to life. I wish I’d heard them somewhere with a better balance of sound and in venue lighting equipment. Front man Anthony Bagnara has a good range and a unique sense of how to use it. Bagnara uses the high notes to accentuate already intense emotion rather than impress the audience, though he accomplishes both. However, I’d encourage him to use his chest voice more as you can hear the strain on his throat in places. His smooth tenor voice meshed curiously with the other vocalist, Brandon fox’s rap. I have to confess; I was a little skeptical as to how the melodic, passionate tones of Bagnara’s voce would work with the sharp edged, pulses of rap. But work it did. Fox really brought an extra edge to the show and got the crowd moving. Both front men were extraordinarily emotive. Bagnara in particular was so caught up in intense emotion that he actually wound up on his knees for part of the show. Bagnara also paid as much attention to the crowd as was feasible in the venue, and seemed genuinely amused by the crowd’s antics, breaking into a grin in the midst of a relatively serious song.
Musically, its clear all of them have talent, however, they need to work on balancing their guitar work against the vocals. Bagnara has quite a soft voice and it’s easy for the louder guitar work to distract from it. The piano (Bagnara’s handy work as well) work was beautiful and had a degree of precision above the other instrumentation. Oddly enough, the electronics were very nicely timed and well done. The guitar work was alternately good and cacophonous, its clear guitarist Jake Foy, has talent but he sounds the least less talented of the band. While all of them are gifted artists, Bagnara’s work both on the piano and the vocals is a cut well above the rest.
I sincerely look forward to seeing these guys really come into their own, I don’t think they are there yet, but I have every confidence they will be very soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment