Setlist:

1. Lisztomania
2. Long Distance Call
3. Lasso
4. Concolation Prizes
5. Fences
6. Girlfriend
7. Armistice
8. Love Like a Sunset Part I
9. Love Like a Sunset Part II
10. Run Run Run
11. Napoleon Too
12. Rome
13. Funky Squaredance

Encore:

14. Love For Granted
15. Playground (Air cover)
16. If I Feel Better
17. 1901

[audio:04 If I Ever Feel Better.mp3]
“If I Ever Feel Better” by Phoenix

And Two Door Cinema Club were great too! If you join their mailing list you can download “Costume Party” from their debut album I Can Talk EP for free!

[audio:Costume Party.mp3]
“Costume Party” by Two Door Cinema Club

Using ones area of expertise as a benefit platform is both a generous and convenient effort. Aspiring to help hungry Houstonians during the holiday season, Houston-based band The 71’s used music as the gateway to entice a charitable deed. The Deal—Bring 5 canned goods to the show and get a free CD. As the instigators of last Saturday night’s event at Fitzgerald’s, The 71’s had the freedom to name it “Bands, Fans & Cans.” Furthermore, they proposed and produced the line-up, electing four local indie-rock contributors known as Amber Skyline to set things in motion.

Graceful piano chords, emanating dramatically upon the fade-out of other instruments, frame the beauty that is Amber Skyline. Melodic vocal harmony and slow southern guitar solos are also present in songs such as “Fall.” Members of Amber Skyline share The 71’s openhanded approach to fighting poverty as they too have a benefit of T-shirt sale proceeds entitled “Can’t Ignore the Poor.” Keep an eye open for the record soon to be available on iTunes and CD Baby.

The evening was full of uplifting lyrics. I find it difficult to be moved by words while tackling the task of deciphering them live, nevertheless, the lyrics of The Canvas Waiting did move me. Unlucky in love, the desire to relay hurt to the inflictor of one’s pain is vexed when “Mercy finds its way” and forgiveness comes. Augmented by the percussive finesse of Josh Rodgers, the excellent falsetto-capable voice of frontman Nathan Medina croons the former phrase from the song “Mercy.” The album A Seasons Change is available on iTunes.

Dallas commuters, Air Review, came prepared with their mood-lighting props and two laptop computers, assumingly containing supplemental overlies. The continuity of four simultaneous guitars combined with ambient, melancholic vocal blends and the drum beat clap-along of “House of All We Left Behind,” had my head spinning in awe. Furthermore, I experienced an immediate liking to the catchiness of “Chasing Corporate,” a song about seizing an opportunity to escape routine and boredom. With the coordinating band next on the agenda, Air Review thanked The 71’s and concluded with the sweet-sounding “All Because You’re Mine.” The album Landmarks is available on iTunes and Amazon.

Chasing Corporate Acoustic Performance from Air Review on Vimeo.

They always begin with “Stretch Out Your Love” and Saturday’s performance by The 71’s was no exception. The song is full of power and vigor allowing Keeton Coffman to transform into the exuberant frontman that he is. Introduced during “Start Again,” the young photographer, Jackson, was asked onstage to snap a few invited shots. Jackson is the son of The 71’s album artist for We Are Locomotive available on iTunes. Keeton offered the Tears for Fears cover of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” to those of us who love the 80’s and still “wish Charles In Charge was on the air.” With a cue to “The Captain,” Ryan Cecil began its familiar introduction. They played “Ready For My Love” as well as two other new songs waiting to be recorded.

With an array of bands this brilliant, sincere, and geographically desirable it’s no wonder I planned weeks in advance to catch them all in action. I too would like to thank The 71’s for opening my eyes to more home talent, giving me a number of neighboring bands to track in the future. My selfish thanks aside; I also commend their heartfelt outreach to help those in need. With Thanksgiving Day approaching, The 71’s gift to the community will remind a few downtrodden individuals that “the God of Surprises always strikes again.”

I saw Shinedown on Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. I typically listen to less hard rock acts but Shinedown qualifies as one of my exceptions. They have the majority of their fans tricked into buying their hardcore façade but they can’t fool me. From his platform, lead singer Brent Smith’s hovering stance over the standing room crowd didn’t intimidate me either.

Shinedown demonstrates a more mature form of aggression than their counterparts, as they don’t sing angry blame-casting songs like “I Hate You” by opening act Sick Puppies. They have a few beautiful piano ballads, including “Call Me” and they went acoustic on their single, “I Dare You.” Guitarist, Jasin Todd, had his acoustic guitar mounted at playing level and would simply let the electric guitar hang from his body as he transitioned between the two.

Smith seems to be a somewhat spiritual man who writes insightful lyrics and who, during “Burning Bright,” had us waving to his late grandmother in heaven. He had written the song in her memory. She was the person who inspired him the most and sadly she passed away before their first album was released. In addition, “Cyanide Sweet Tooth Suicide” is about a friend of his. A twenty-five year old friend whose untimely death occurred as the result of a drug overdose. Maybe it’s songs such as the latter that attract the deathpunk fashioned attendees who assume Shinedown’s calloused image.

Due to time limitation, Smith felt that the shorter than planned pause reduced the climactic effect of their reentrance for the encore of “Second Chance.” He wrapped it up by saying, “with Shinedown it’s never goodbye, it’s just until next time.”

Australia-based Sick Puppies have one song that I enjoy off of their latest album, Tri-Polar, called “Maybe.” I was glad they chose to play it for us. It was adorable to see frontman, Shimon Moore, gushing with appreciation seeming genuinely sincere when he said that we were making his dreams come true.

Slap-style bass player, Emma Anzai, accentuated her punk persona by casting a blowing fan on her long brown hair. Having discussed prior to the show the tendency for males to find girl bass players “hot,” my friend Eric (a.k.a Suave) confirmed that she was, in fact, “hot.” Our friend Maggie concurred and followed it up with “she knows she’s a bad ass. It makes me want to rush out right now and buy a guitar. And a fan.”

The St. Louis post-grunge group, Cavo, preceded Sick Puppies. No need to downplay your accomplishments fellas! Everyone who saw Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen exited the theatre to your song “Let It Go” in the credits and, though you chose to be modest, that is a big deal.

We missed most of the openning openning openning band performance by Adelitas Way, a five-piece rock group hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada.

12:45PM- The Virgins
Frontman Donald Cumming was wearing green eye shadow and, clearly apparent on the jumbotron, it was dripping down his face in the rain. They did most of their 2008 album with “Rich Girls” of course receiving the greatest of the applause.

1:20PM- Cotton Jones
I had reviewed this Maryland duo’s latest EP on Dryvetyme Onlyne at the end of August and was, therefore, eager to see them live. Whitney McGraw has a brilliantly peaceful complimenting voice to Michael Nau’s, who drastically altered the melody of “Nicotine Canary” from the album version.

2:00PM- MuteMath
Live samplings, rebounds, and drum and keyboard loops. A keytar and a homemade instrument named The Atari. DJ beats and frenzied drumming. I could go on but some of the instrumentation was occasionally too drawn out and a bit too much for me. Still, I was surprised that I had never paid much attention to MuteMath aside from learning that they were part of the  Twilight Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. I found them very talented and very exhilarating performers. Lead singer Paul Meany cried out his inability to “hold it together” in my favorite song of the set, “Burden.” Below please find the video for “Spotlight.”

3:00- The Airborne Toxic Event
There was definitely a sea of people gathered for this show. They attracted a larger crowd than Grizzly Bear, who positioned themselves near the back of their stage due to weather conditions. The Airborne Toxic Event sang “Goodbye Horses” by William Garvy just as they always do at live shows. In this case, however, they sang it in his memory as he recently passed away.

4:00PM- Citizen Cope
I had always been on the fence about whether I liked Citizen Cope or not. Saturday provided the confirmation I needed that, in fact, I do not like Citizen Cope. Moving on.

4:20- Flogging Molly
Having left Citizen Cope, I moseyed over to watch the Celtic-punk ensemble, Flogging Molly, and was swallowed up by stringed instruments.

5:00- Bon Iver
I was excited for my first opportunity to see Bon Iver (pronounced by Justin as bony-vair)  as he’s been at my fingertips on several occasions yet, unfortunately, just out of reach each time. So, nothing was stopping me. Not the mud up to my knees, not the clammy crowd surrounding me, and not even the fact that I could only see Justin Vernon from the big screen because I picked the wrong side of the stage to stand on.

6:00-The Zac Brown Band
Don’t pretend that you don’t like the song “Chicken Fried.”  If you’re a True Blood fan you may also want to refer to the second season episode 9, “I Will Rise Up” as Zac’s “Whiskey’s Gone” was featured there.

7:00- The Decemberists
It wasn’t my first time to witness “Hazards of Love” but it was every bit as good as the first, maybe even better. I lost myself in the story which immediately evaporated all sluggishness the weather had provoked.  I must give additional compliments to Shara Warden playing the Queen.

Rocks Off concert promoters present the Houston Press music award nominees each year with a showcase in downtown Houston. Several bars and clubs participate hosting performers from the ballot. First, I saw Runaway Sun, up for the Best Blues Group award. This summer they released The Bridge, a ten-song LP recorded at Houston’s Sugar Hill Studios. A self-titled EP was released in 2008. Below please have a listen to “The Ballad of Marylou.”

[audio:The Ballad of Marylou.mp3]
“The Ballad of Marylou” by Runaway Sun

Next, I saw Kristine Mills who has been nominated for Musician of the Year. She’s a jazz singer, born and raised in Houston, TX. She regularly performs at Trulucks Steakhouse. A schedule of performances can be found at Kristine Mills Music.

At Martells I saw The TonTons. The TonTons are nominated for Best Guitarist and Best Female Vocal. Saturday night they had their CD release party for their ten-song self-titled debut. All I can say is Asli Omar looks like she sounds amazing. She was drowning in base and percussion the entire time. I can’t blame her though, she asked several times for more vocals, the venue just wasn’t suitable. From what I could make out, she sounded a lot like Cat Power.

The Irish rock band, Blaggards, closed the evening. Among the original songs, their set also included several covers. They teased us with AC/DC’s “Back In Black” within a song called “Nancy Whiskey.” They did the Irish traditions, “Whiskey In The Jar” and “Drunken Sailor.” Lastly, they threw in a little Johnny Cash with “ Folsom Prison Blues.” They seem to have a pretty good following in Houston and I think Martells is their regular venue.

Winners will be announced this Thursday, July 30, 2009 at Warehouse Live.

At the Woodlands Pavillion for the second time in one weekend, Linds and I went to see The Fray. The line-up included three piano fronted bands, as Meese and Jack’s Mannequin preceded The Fray. Meese’s Frontman, Patrick Meese, once part of a band headlining The Fray, has contently found himself invited to the opening position by his old friends. His Denver-based rock/pop group also includes his brother, Nathan Meese, drummer, Benjamin Haley, and guitarist, Mike Ayars. Their debut album called Broadcast is available now. Their set ended as The Fray joined them on stage throwing toilet paper around. It was a little bit of farewell fun since Meese was on their last night of the tour.

In the picture you can see Isaac Slade of The Fray taking a picture of the crowd.

Below are two songs performed by Meese. “Next In Line” is their current single.

1. Next In Line
2. Tell Me It’s Over

Jack’s Mannequin began their set with the radio friendly, “Mixed Tape.” Fueled by energy and contagious lyrics, the group cranked out a 13 song set which left me wondering if The Fray could possibly impress me more. They did a cover of “Watch The Sky” by leader, Andrew McMahon‘s, former band, Something Corporate. Shortly after, they ended their set with a cover of Tom Petty’s, “American Girl.”

1. Mixed Tape
2. Spinning
3. Holiday From Real
4. Crashin’
5. I’m Ready
6. Bruised
7. La La Lie
8. Swim
9. Dark Blue
10. Bloodshot
11. Watch The Sky (Something Corporate cover)
12. Resolution
13. American Girl (Tom Petty cover)

Singing “Happiness” under a single blue spotlight, Isaac Slade, dramatically ushered in The Fray. The down-tempo version was cut short and “Over My Head (Cable Car)” picked up where it left off. They did five songs before finally introducing the piano with “How To Save A Life.” Before beginning, Slade informed us that each of his songs have a person behind them, meaning they are all written about someone. “How To Save A Life” is about a friend he had back when he was 17 who tried but couldn’t put his life back together. He described it as a jigsaw puzzle with missing pieces. He realized that he didn’t know how to save his friend. He also realized that they had to part ways before he found himself following his friend’s downward path. Thus the lyrics, ‘he goes left and you go right.’

“You Found Me” concluded the main show, but they continued with probably the longest encore I have ever witnessed. They started it with “Look After You,” which they wrapped around a little “Man In The Mirror” tribute. Then strangely, in my opinion, they performed an acoustic version of J.T and T.I’s “Dead And Gone.” During this cover, Meese came out dancing around in their underwear. I was a little turned off at this point but they recaptured my attention with, “All At Once.” Lastly, they reprised “Happiness” elongating the “Hey-ay-e-yay-e-yay” lyrics with atmospheric accompaniment. Slade said, ‘get your phones out,’ as nobody waves lighters anymore, instead we use the backlight of our mobile phones. I liked the fact that they started and ended with the same song even though, initially, I was upset because I hadn’t yet heard my favorite song, “Enough For Now.”

At the end of the show Slade preached that wherever we are in life we can’t give up until we get to where we want to be. Then he proceeded to tell us that he wishes he could have coffee with each of us, as he talks to us for an hour and a half on stage but never gets to hear our story. As we were leaving, Linds told me that she didn’t think that she had ever been to such an amazing concert before in her life.

1. Happiness
2. Over My Head (Cable Car)
3. Absolute
4. She Is
5. Say When
6. How To Save A Life
7. Vienna
8. Syndicate
9. Little House
10. We Build Then We Break
11. Where The Story Ends
12. Never Say Never
13. You Found Me

Encore

1. Look After You (Michael Jackson “Man In The Mirror” covered within)
2. Dead And Gone (J.T. T.I. acoustic cover)
3. All At Once
4. Happiness

Yes, I was late to a friend’s birthday party because I went to a Rod Stewart concert! I had entered a contest through the Houston Chronicle via Twitter, just to see if I got lucky. I won four covered seats at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX. I called my dad and asked if he liked Rod Stewart and his responses were, “Well, he’s getting kinda old,” “he used to dance quite a bit, but he’s probably too old now,” and “usually when they get older they don’t perform their songs from top to bottom. They’ll shorten ‘em because they get winded.” We went anyway.

We were pleasantly surprised, to say the least. He put on a great show. The man still gets good use out of his dancing shoes and he played for a good hour and a half. While I didn’t record the full setlist, I have provided an incomplete and out of order listing of what I remember.

The blue suit jacket he appeared in was just one of three ensembles. His last quick wardrobe change was jeans and a cowboy hat, seeing as he was in Texas.

He did a Sam Cooke cover of “Twistin’ The Night Away” and credited the late Mr. Cooke as one of his influences back when he was a kid. A cover of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” by a back-up singer/dancer nicely filled what I assume was a much needed back stage break.

Homage was paid to Michael Jackson, as footage of him with the Jackson 5 in their 70’s bell bottoms and tasseled vests flashed across the JumboTron.

During “Hot Legs” he kicked soccer balls into the crowd, something he’s been known to do at live shows, as he’s a fan of Scottish national football. Following his “Maggie May” encore, he made his way to the curtain and literally leapt off the stage and out of sight.

1. Some Guys Have All the Luck
2. Forever Young
3. The First Cut Is the Deepest
4. Twistin’ The Night Away (Sam Cooke cover)
5. Downtown Train
6. You’re in My Heart
7. Proud Mary (Tina Turner cover)
8. Have I Told You Lately
9. Hot Legs

Encore

1. Maggie May

Read my article of The 71’s posted on Dryvetyme Onlyne

Pegstar Concerts entertained a subdued crowd last night hosting Elvis Perkins in Dearland, Other Lives, and Tody Castillo at Walter’s on Washington.

Castillo’s easy rock tempo contained individual instrumental solos and an occasional breakdown. Those who enjoy the calming sound of an alto male would appreciate his effortless mid to high range inflections. He broke periodically to interface with the crowd and, while doing so, he often addressed us as “dogs.” A collective clap began to infect the assembly during his last few songs. Generated by his admirers, it spread until most showgoers had joined in.

Jesse Tabish, an Iron and Wine Samuel Beam look-a-like due to his comparable matted hair and beard, fronts the ethereal array Other Lives. They began with a very delicate number embraced by a muted upstroke from Tabish’s acoustic. He has a throaty, yet nasal emphasis to his tone. One who enjoys a lot of oscillating sound, orchestral arrangements, and an integral piano resonance would be pleased with what Other Lives has to offer. They did a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “The Partisan” and the crowd hooted its approval.

Lorretta-Lynn-Cracker-Barrel-country tunes played as we waited entirely too long for Elvis Perkins and Dearland to get settled on the stage. When they were ready Elvis himself asked, “Will somebody get all the smokers and tell them to come in.” He reminded me of Amos Lee, among other folk identities. His rock edge gives him an innovative freshness that diverges from strict folk tendencies. Nick Kinsey, the drummer, was given a little freedom to interact when he strapped on a base drum rigged with a cymbal and stepped to the front striking it with a mallet and a tambourine. Jenny Hsu from Other Lives contributed now and again with her electric cello. Harmonicas, a trombone, a saxophone, and a harmonium were also part of the equation.

They performed the majority of their new self-titled album as well as a few off of Perkin’s solo debut, Ash Wednesday. The only slight criticism I should mention with regard to the overall show would be the infrequent drowning of Elvis’ vocal to the mass of instruments. They did a customary encore consisting of two songs, the later joined by Other Lives. Each artist staggered back onto the stage entering only when his or her participation was needed.

1. 123 Goodbye
2. I Heard Your Voice In Dresden
3. Chains, Chain, Chains
4. Emilie’s Vietnam in the Sky
5. Hey
6. Hours Last Stand
7. Weeping Mary (cover)
8. Stop, Drop, Rock n’ Roll
9. I’ll Be Arriving
10. May Day!
11. How’s Forever Been Baby
12. Stay Zombie
13. Shampoo

Encore

1. While You Were Sleeping
2. Doomsday

I guess I owe Carmen for the wonderful display of talent compiled last night in her honor. As an acquaintance to one of the contributing bands, Fitzgerald’s hosted a birthday bash for her. Adam Rodgers, a native Houstonian who currently resides in Austin, kicked things off right on schedule, my compliments to the venue. Adam has, within the last six months, put together a band called Bantam Lyons. The name derived from a character in the book Ulysses by James Joyce. While recruiting a few individuals to simply lend a hand, Adam instead found something that worked well as a full collaboration. He credits his band mates, not as “aficionado’s of their instruments,” but with the amazing ability for thought and creativity.

The track, “Sweet Melody,” can be found on Adam’s MySpace page. It’s a five piece harmony substituted with a guitar solo when performed live. Adam plans to spend the next few months writing in hopes of drafting 10 new songs to present to his guitarist, Curran Guiney. He foresees his debut album as being largely acoustic with possibly a cello. When asked about his inspirations, Adam mentioned Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz before digging deeper into his appreciation for Motown. He believes that Motown was revolutionary in generating hits and that rock and pop genres would not be present today had Motown not existed. He likes music that constantly evolves and used the band Radiohead as an example. “How can you breakthrough if all you play is the same shit?” he said. Furthermore, he explained that, while The Beatles aided in the understatement of Motown, they did things right by incorporating a variety of musical stylings and by “not letting other people tell them what to write.”

Adam’s motivation for songwriting lies in the recollection of his late father, who made him listen to Marvin Gaye when he was child. Adam’s song “Save Me” is a tribute to his father. “Fuck Me” is a song exhibiting Guiney and his very influential guitar accompaniment. Closing the set, Adam performed a solo cover of Ben Harper’s “I’ll Rise.” He sang it a cappella despite the gentle repeated strum of the bass string.  

Photo by Angela Mack:

A Dream Asleep

After a nice conversation with Adam I went back inside the crumbling authentic dive and caught the tail end of Sleeping with Giants. It was a head-banging, lip-pierced, punk montage with a humdrum front man singer. I headed downstairs and, as the laggard observer I had been all night, I again only heard one or two numbers by A Dream Asleep. Furthermore, during that brief time I was distracted by the stage platform coated with band stickers. Just not my cup of tea. What I did like, however, were the low stringers improvised by the lead guitar during the singer’s quirky banters. The singer was having a great time. I’ll give him that. Blood rushed to his face as he screamed his heart out. During the last song he jumped off of the stage and began leaping onto people in the crowd.

Photo by Angela Mack:

Another Run

It’s rare but it does happen. Another Run’s drummer also serves as the band’s front man. Adrian Grammer has been singing for the band for 4 years. Initially they were looking for a lead singer but Adrian took the bull by the horns, so to speak, when nobody stepped up. He had difficultly describing their sound and responded first by informing me that they “don’t stick to one genre.” Indie rock, blues, soul, jazz, and rock n’ roll can all be found within their original work. Adrian’s personal favorites are Pete Yorn and a band called Ours. As a band they are influenced by Incubus, At The Drive-In, and The Police. Their first record was released in 2006 and was titled No Sleep Tonight. It was self recorded, self produced, and independently released. Their second release (an E.P.) is currently being mixed in New York and will most likely be titled What Happened. Adrian writes the lyrics, the melody, and the drums but the arrangement is done cooperatively with the rest of the band.

They started with great vocal harmonies followed by a song featured on their MySpace page titled “I‘ll Be There.” I was anticipating a horn solo from Bob, the bass player, after waiting out their sound check and watching him warm up to a trumpet. It was incorporated into a track driven by power chords and representative of their harder side. They covered The Killers’ “Midnight Show” at the end of their set and Adrian did a good job of replicating Brandon Flowers’ distinctive voice. If you would like to check them out, their next show will be at Dean’s next Saturday May 16, 2009 at 11pm.

Better Luck from Katy, TX was your typical, mainstream impacted, guitars-worn-at-your-knees, punk band. They invited us to come closer by jokingly making sure we knew that it was alright to bring alcoholic beverages to the stage. 

Photo by Barry Dolton

Bettrer Luck

Downstairs I found The 71’s, a band I had seen open for Thriving Ivory at Warehouse Live back in December. I purchased their debut album, We Are Locomotive, and looped it in my car until I discovered my favorite track, “Tomorrow Belongs to You.”  Its funky, slightly distorted introduction preludes a catchy vocal paired with very essential lyrics. “The truth is, honey/ money never seemed that sweet/ When you’re lyin’ on your back/ money don’t get you back on your feet.” These words illustrate the willingness to recognize something that has the power to evoke a figment of happiness while creating a barrier to actual happiness. So, my interpretation of a message would be to identify the things that hold you back and eliminate them in order to obtain true happiness.

You can always expect to hear a cover song from The 71’s, as each performance I’ve seen has included one. It was “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots at Warehouse and last night it was Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” They implemented a great version complete with its familiar guitar riff, courtesy of Ryan Cecil on the electric.

Keeton Coffman, the front man of The 71’s, approached me after his performance, as I had attempted to get in touch through various social networks including MySpace and Facebook, prior to last night‘s event. From Keeton I learned that the band has received some airtime in Austin. They have been featured on the indie FM station 106.7. In addition, they had three of their songs licensed to preview on the TV reality show, The Real World. Despite these few promotional breaks, Keeton claims that he and his band mates just “aren’t good at the business thing.” We shared our thoughts on the unmanageable amount of resources available online and how keeping up with that is a full time job in itself. The 71’s prefer local gigs to touring and are currently striving to become the best rock/pop band in Houston. “I want our music to matter to Houston because Houston matters to us,” said Keeton. They will be taking some time off this summer to play at youth groups for children. Visit them on MySpace for show dates returning in July. While I did not have the pleasure, you may witness Keeton’s back flip, as he has chosen to display it in the past. A practiced gymnast, Keeton coaches on the side.

Photo by Barry Dolton

The Vettes

Rachel is the front woman to an otherwise all male group. The Vettes is a fitting name for this group, as each member is a Vette. To clarify, they are all related and their last name is Vette. Rachel and her four brothers reside in Louisiana and have been on tour through Texas and surrounding states for the last several months. Rachel has great stage presence and the pipes to make it legit. Sheathed in bangle bracelets to her elbows, stilettos, and a plethora of necklaces she strut the stage with such riveting energy that I had to remind myself to pay attention to the other components of the group. With her glitter embossed microphone stand in tow she struck a number of suggestive poses and entertained animated facial expressions and lyric-echoed gestures. With her apparent 80’s influences, Rachel enjoys Depeshe Mode and Duran Duran. The Vettes have been compared to Blondie but Rachel ensured me that they found their sound prior to exploring any of the bands they resemble. The available E.P. is titled T.V EP and contains five tracks. I guess the summer season fuels creativity because, like Adam Rodgers and The 71’s, The Vettes will be taking most of June and July off from touring to do some song-writing.