Bad Veins.
I’m rooting for Bad Veins to make a splash having finally released their debut album. I first saw them in Cincinnati back in 2007 playing for an art auction benefit for my friends’ son. They were good then, and are better now.
Benjamin Davis employs a vintage reel-to-reel tape deck to cover pre-recorded backing tracks while he alternates between keyboards, crunchy guitar, a telephone and a megaphone. And it’s hard not to notice Sebastien Schultz plugging away efficiently on the drums.
They’ll be back in Denver Oct. 10 at the Hi-Dive. If you missed one of the better shows at Monolith, you’ll want to check them out.
Bad Veins — “Warm and Gold” live at Monolith:
More Bad Veins at Monolith:
Monolith Festival: The Twilight Sad.
The Twilight Sad at Monolith.
Maybe there’s something inherently intense about growing up in Scotland. Maybe I just think every Scot is one small provocation away from going William Wallace, Braveheart-style crazy on any unfortunate chump that is foolish enough to slight them.
Anyway, The Twilight Sad is a noisy, moody bunch. There’s nothing wrong with that. Until some drunk-ass shouts “Billy Corgan!” in reference to frontman James Graham’s very slight resemblance to the similarly buzz-headed Smashing Pumpkins singer (whom The Twilight Sad have toured with, mind you).
“Whut did yew saye? Billly Corrrgan? Funny.” I doubt Graham was being sincere. And then bassist Craig Orzel’s amp crapped out, leading to a frantic change where he borrow Deer Tick‘s bass rig. Despite it all — The Twilight Sad played wonderfully. Definitively one of the best and most surprising gems of the entire festival, these Scots have toured with, but are certainly an improvement over bands like Mogwai, The Smashing Pumpkins and Idlewild.
Grab their new record, Forget The Night Ahead in October.