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BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
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The Carlsonics
at the 929
Caf
in Richmond, VA 10/11/02
The Carlsonics are a garage rock band from Washington D.C. Now, to me, a statement like this is a bright red STOP sign: the words garage rock have become cumbersome with the fevered sweat of a thousand marketing executives and a checklist of clichd signifiers (vintage guitars, tight pants, and cheesy riffshey mom, ironys on MTV again!), and living two hours south of our nations capital has left me with an abundance of prejudices (asshole fashion victim drug addicts ok sorry). But the Carlsonics are a garage band that sound like they actually practice in a garage, not in a New York city loft or in Sweden. (Somehow I doubt that they have anything as inefficient as a garage in Sweden I imagine the Hives and Sahara Hotnights practicing their flying jump kicks in an ice palace reminiscent of Supermans Fortress of Solitude). And though they may come from Scenester Heaven, they stepped onstage at the 929 Caf in their jeans and t-shirts, no scarves or tight slacks in sight, and they even managed to insult Ian Svenonius, which redeemed them in my eyes. I had heard a three-song CD that the Carlsonics released, and it didnt match up to the praise they had received for their live show. The new four-song CD that I purchased after this show confirmed that at the present, the Carlsonics are a live band. They are tight and focused, which doesnt seem that impressive on a recording; hopefully, if a band takes the time and money to record an album, theyll try and play the songs right. However, the live Carlsonics hit their cues dead-on while still dominating the stage like a rock band should. One of the guitarists was intent on his hands for the first half of the show; then Aaron, the Carlsonics singer, came over and wiped a foreheads worth of sweat on the guitarists back, and soon he was leaping across the stage and balancing his guitar on its head with the rest of them. The band has a true frontman in Aaron, who primps and pantomimes his lyrics, suddenly grinning and flopping to the ground. He runs to the side of the stage during instrumental sections, letting the band get the credit they deserve, then staggers back to hang on Nikki, the toothpick-thin bass player, who props him up while bellowing the song into the mic that he has thrust in her face. The 929 audience was very Richmond, in that about 8 people stood near the stage to watch the band while 50 people sat at the bar, trying to look pretty while drinking PBR. But the Carlsonics didnt give a shit about the apathetic losers at the bar; they were playing for the fat dude with long hair and a bushy beard who was headbanging at the front of the stage. Alright, they are performers, so what about the songs? Well, as mentioned above, the Carlsonics are a garage rock band. The songs are a combination of Led Zeppelin and the Ramones, power chords and bluesy leads. They have one particular trick of taking a part that most bands would repeat for 4 or 8 bars and playing it over and over, somehow managing to keep the intensity rising, and just when it seems that they had better stop or heads will start spinning, they keep going and it just keeps getting louder and crazier, until finally they realize that, for the good of the country, they had better stop. Like I said, this doesnt really come across on CD; there, the songs sound like (I hate to say it) the Hives, power chord riffs that are catchy and clever but fail to add up to much. On the plus side, Aarons nasal whine voice bears a distinct resemblance to that of Chris from the Pee Chees and the Pattern. But the current crop of much-hyped return of rock bands either seem embarrassed by their rock background (the Vines), overstress their authenticity and sincerity (the White Stripes), appear more interested in fashion than music (the Strokes), or are in imminent danger of overdosing on irony (the aforementioned Hives). The Carlsonics are the middle point where all of these lines intersect. They have achieved a balance of humor and gravity, of image and content. They know that they are only a rock band, and that its important to have fun as a rock band; but they are serious about their fun, and they work hard at it. They know that they must project an image of cool as a rock band, but their cool seems natural and unforced; it comes as a reflection of the music, rather than vice-versa. If they ever manage to capture this balance and intensity on a recording, the band will have a million-seller. They are not the saviors of rock, and they are not the best new band of the century. The Carlsonics are simply a rock band that is very, very good at what it does.
Releases by the Carlsonics can be purchased at Insound. About LOTD Contact/Staff Advertise Home All content © LEFT OFF THE DIAL 2001-2005. All rights reserved. |
