The Saint Peter Pocket Veto
w/ Dead Elephant Bicycle, Ghost Train
Thursday, July 17 @ Caledonia Lounge
originally published July 16, 2008
Joe Mauro
The Saint Peter Pocket Veto
Discovering a band name like The Saint Peter Pocket Veto can be temporarily consuming. Something so obscure sounding has to be a reference to something, right? You may Wiki it, Google it or even go as far as to crack a book, but chances are: no dice. Fittingly so, because The Saint Peter Pocket Veto is unique unto itself. Lazy comparisons to other duos would be disingenuous, especially to a pair so confident in the nascent stages of its collaboration. These two students at the North Carolina School of the Arts - film students - go figure - display both impressive skill and enormous potential for future tunes. The kids are sick!
The combination of John Appleton (drums, vocals) and Bran Nieboer (guitar, vocals) is more than a math rock chop-fest; there is some depth to be had here. They are certainly descendants of the Chapel Hill weirdness fostered by beer-swilling guitar manglers Archers of Loaf, but they exhibit an (occasionally frustrating) tendency towards repetitious, free-flowing improvisation. The yelping and spazzing and such might take you back to the glorious, three-band package tour of Hella, Joan of Arc and Need New Body that came through a few years ago, and that's a good memory to evoke. Without a proper studio recording to speak of, but plenty of energy and enthusiasm, it'll be interesting to see where these two head in the future.
Performing alongside fellow North Carolinian (and current member of Dark Meat) Dylan Angell's collaborative project Dead Elephant Bicycle and Macon weirdoes Ghost Train, it's a night of strange sounds from kids with good ideas.
The Boy Bathing
w/ Tin Cup Prophette & Still, Small Voice and the Joyful Noise
Friday, July 18 @ 40 Watt Club
originally published July 16, 2008
Dario Cantatore
The Boy Bathing
Just as a fire can’t be made without preparations, “counsel, without help, is useless,” the old adage from Aesop’s fable reminds us. The Boy Bathing borrows its name from the same patron of parables so that vocalist David Hurwitz may try his best to say something proverbial about the order of carts and horses, and in many cases, succeeds. Emo, to many a dismay, is not dead - it just took a vacation to rethink its life and listen to Arcade Fire.
The Boy Bathing borrows some of the patented indie elements common among Midwest, Saddle Creek bands. Hurwitz's vocals in particular sound like Bright Eyes hardened by NYC neurosis. The Boy Bathing’s brand of “cuddlecore” joins fabric-softening synths and mounting strings behind finger-picking precision. Even so, Hurwitz is not exactly the kind you’d want to take home to Mom. “I will not take part in my parents' religion,” Hurwitz insists unapologetically on the band’s latest release, A Fire to Make Preparations (2007).
Often finding himself drowning in his own convoluted sorrow, Hurwitz, like so many others of the generation for which he speaks, finds redemption through the love of another: “I’m looking deep into the soul of a woman/ And I swear that Jesus Christ that I’ve got the same feeling/ And I know that there is something that I can believe in/ ’Cause I feel that I should live and I do not need a reason,” Hurwitz squirms in his over-articulated sneer, never censoring his thoughts before spewing them out.
Newer tracks such as “Haunted Houses” capture the band’s intense live energy while paying homage to Pixies' Surfer Rosa-era alternative through tinny electric guitars augmented by a gorgeous melodic counterpoint from Jeannie Scofield. The Boy Bathing is on proverbial fire; its searing impact is as discomforting as it is disarming.
Oakhurst
Tuesday, July 22 @ Melting Point
originally published July 16, 2008
Oakhurst
Oakhurst represents a slice of Americana. This quintet of fine musicians from Colorado simultaneously honors and rewrites history by performing traditional bluegrass music with a few inventive wrinkles. The result: rural music with a progressive, sometimes electric lean that will appeal to the genre’s purists and listeners just looking for a good time.
The band, comprised of A.P. Hill (acoustic guitar/vocals), Johnny James Qualley (bass), Adam Smith (mandolin/vocals), Zach Daniels (banjo/vocals) and Chris Budin (drums) generally knocks out nearly 200 shows annually. With that road record, what’s taken Oakhurst so long to make its way to Athens? “I guess we’ve just been concentrating on other regions,” says Qualley. “We’ve played several cruise ships through Sixthman [event coordinators] based in Atlanta, and we figured it was time to get our tails down there. So, we’re doing it.”
Touring behind the March 2008 release Jump in the Get Down (Big Bender Records), the band is fearless when it comes to promoting and exporting its sound. Case in point: Oakhurst's unique brand of busking, self-described as "Rocky Mountain Guerilla Grass." The bandmembers have been known to hit street corners in towns before and after formal gigs, navigate festival campsites by golf cart and even occupy the occasional elevator with their portable, rustic jams. Obviously Oakhurst isn’t afraid of tweaking tradition.
So, is it more rewarding to win over a hardcore purist, or to get a few hippies to dance? Qualley admits, “I think it’s nice to do a little bit of both. We’re doing what we do regardless of what others might say, and it’s always nice to see a crowd raging and sweating!”
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