Thursday the 23rd saw Mitch Easters "Let's Active Cover Band," Gravel Truck quietly saunter in to the Cave and blow it apart with vintage rock goodness. Shortly after 10 pm the shout of the phrase "emotions are enemy agents - go home!" marked the beginning of a set of music that spanned the life of that 80s pop icon Let's Active. The band was spot on and Mitch Easter was masterful on the guitar once again. With this group of musicians backing him up this material was as muscular and tuneful as ever. With Jon Heames on the drums and Tim Lee (Windbreakers, Tim Lee 3) on bass, this band had solid grooves to hold up Mitch's fluid guitar and sprawling melodies. A rocked up "Every Word Means No" quickly followed its harder edges working decidedly in its favor. Songs Like "Ornamental" and "Horizon" reminded me of how heavy Let's Active could be. These songs absolutely sounded like they belonged in the canon of rock classics. Wistful and poppy, "Reflecting Pool" was a nice change of pace song in this set. The set closed with a classic reading of "In Little Ways" leaving me wanting to catch this version of Let's Active material anytime.
Set List:
Easy Does
Every Word Means No
Ornamental
Horizon
Badger
Every Dog Has His Day
Still Dark Out
Reflecting Pool
Bad Machinery
Fell
In Little Ways
2 comments:
you beat me to the punch. i may blog on this show too. was such a fun night out. funny how just 8 feet back, the volume in the cave goes down several decibels, almost like hearing the band on a stereo. but walk a little closer and the punch of the band gets you in the gut in the best possible way. was so great to see so many old school friends and fellow musicians (and others that didn't go all the way back to the early 80's) at the show.
You know, I just discovered them, downloaded some, listened some more. Such a great sound, a great discovery it is. They have a fantastic edgy indie pop rock sound, even something punk-ish about vocals, and even if not there, certainly what I listened to sounds like canon of rock classics. I can imagine the punch one gets hit with.
You should work for Rolling Stones mag à la Hunter Thompson, who as you certainly know started there. (Although on entirely another note On the Campain train '72.. is a must-read as well...) Your reviews slash accounts are very alive, well written and informed. Thanks for sharing.
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