04.06.08

Great show at Frankie’s last night

Posted in Words at 11:10 am by photodan

Disclaimer: I’m sitting here writing this with the dull ache that comes from the bar running out of Jameson and having to substitute Jack Daniels mid-stream, while finishing off the drunk special (ham-n-cheese omlette and homefries) from the greasiest of the greasy, Central Hot Dog. (aka Greasy George’s) I’m clearly under the influence of unclean things.

Some people say the music scene in Toledo sucks but damn was there a great show at Frankie’s Inner City last night. The only band on the lineup that I knew of was The Matt Truman Ego Trip, a really solid local band that’s always fun to see, so I knew the night wouldn’t be a waste. Their up front tongue-in-cheek narcissism is always good for a laugh and they rock, so yeah; game on. I figured the other bands would just be gravy, lumpy, out of town mystery gravy. Wow, was I wrong.

The other two bands were The Hard Lessons, from just up I-75 in Detroit (Go Wings!) and Bryan Scary & the Shedding Tears, from Brooklyn, NY. I have no idea who was considered to be headlining because Bryan Scary came on first but was BY FAR the most entertaining of the bunch, and that shouldn’t be interpreted as a slam on the other bands. I’ll get to them in a minute.

The Hard Lessons is a hard rocking pseudo power trio, with keyboard bass instead of an actual bass player. The first thing I noticed about the band was the vocals coming from singer, Ko Ko Louise. She has a soulful and sultry sound that’s an almost dead-on match for Toledo’s own Michelle McGrath, formerly of The Rivermen and The Capital Sun Rays. I’m not convinced that her vocals mesh well with their music though. Her voice is almost too good for rock and roll. Add in the raw-style guitar and vocals from Dave Grohl lookalike Augie, and you have a band that I won’t hesitate to go see again and again.

I’ve saved the best and strangest act for last; Bryan Scary & the Shedding Tears. I’ve been trying to come up with an accurate description and the only way that works is a comparison with other bands and performers. They can best be described as unequal parts of ELO, the White Stripes, Ringo Starr, Alice Cooper, Tiny Tim and Carrot Top. (I have to qualify that last one. I’ve never seen a lead singer with so many props.) They present a sort of pop symphonic revival movement that is endlessly entertaining. I had to research the exact genre of their sound but at the time I thought, I don’t know what they’re trying to be but whatever it is, they nailed it. They eagerly launch into long musical storytelling that even included props like model airplanes, lab coats and the odd space helmet on Bryan Scary, the lead singer. The band’s music was articulate and complex enough that it must have been written in sheet form first. There’s simply no way songs like theirs were thrown together with a couple repetitive chords and a catchy chorus.

Scary’s on stage performance was riveting. From his huge swaths of blue eyeliner to the donning of a 60s style space helmet, I just couldn’t wait to see what he’d do next. He was just as likely to frantically run in place with his back to the audience as single out one of the Elvis impersonators in the audience. (Yes, you read that right, no I don’t understand it either.)

If you’re bored with the normal rock bands or whiny emo groups, I can’t possibly recommend this group more strongly. GO SEE THIS BAND.

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