By: Pat O'Brien
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Mark Holland of My Valkerie - Photo by David de Young
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Things like what happened on Friday night don’t happen at places like the Uptown very often. Which is to say nothing of the venue itself, but it often houses up-and-comers and the vibe is sometimes a little shaky no matter how good the band. But Friday was different. Very different.
The night started off with a song from My Valkyrie that proved to be a red herring of sorts. It sounded like a something Shudder to Think would have recorded but had looser guitar work. Their set quickly veered into a kind of “ultra-power pop,” radio-friendly on the surface but just clever enough to rise above most of the stuff on the radio; the closest thing I could compare it to is a poppy Metallica. There was a vague air of menace to them, which was odd because they seemed to be having a generally good time onstage; like a thief who lifts your wallet but only takes the cash so as not to cause a lot of trouble and maybe gets to hang out at your place later.
No Wait Wait was up next and they were a last-minute replacement for Crew Jones, who canceled due to scheduling difficulties. Their sound reminded me repeatedly of one thing: homegrown Urge Overkill. They took that sound (specifically the guitars on “Saturation”) and crossed it with the efficient, no-nonsense workmanship of the Great Plains and a sense of listening to Pavement’s Watery, Domestic EP on repeat for great lengths of time. The guitars stuttered and growled, the vocalists had some great harmonizing on a couple of the songs and the band was a generally pleasant experience.
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Retribution Gospel Choir - Photo by David de Young
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About halfway through Retribution Gospel Choir’s set, lead Choir-boy Alan Sparhawk casually mentioned, “If you have anything that’s really bothering you in your life, come see us” – and he could not have been more right. Their set conjured up emotions and feelings I never knew I had; I was absolutely overwhelmed by it all.
RGC was reminiscent of a modern day Pink Floyd, with multiple extended guitar solos (one consisted of controlled feedback and had the entire bar shaking) and a drum solo that, at once, seemed to go on forever and not nearly long enough (far and away the best drum solo I have ever heard or seen), but without the inherent British dreariness of Floyd--nurturing hope instead of despair. It was the kind of music that makes you forget you like other bands or have even heard other music at any other point in your life before this one; it was that powerful. The lyrics took on big, meaty issues (faith, fear, etc.) and seemed to be confronting those things head-on, offering answers rather than just raising questions.
I was discussing an album the other day with a friend of mine and he said “It wasn’t the answer to the questions I was asking.” In contrast, RGC seemed to be the answer to almost every question I have ever had about anything in my life. I was nearly brought to tears at one point and I’m not embarrassed to say it. I stood at the front of the stage with my mouth open and then had to go sit back down, awestruck. Now, I know I must sound like an infomercial or at least like I have been paid off by the band, but neither is true. This was simply one of the three best live shows I have attended; it was completely transcendent and free of any and all pretensions, assumptions or agendas. The band was self-confident but never overly so. They seemed to exist as vessels only to let the music pass through them and seemed almost unaware of the music’s power.
The one thing I can’t get over is that only about 60 or so people were in the Uptown to see this all play out. I’m not sure what everyone else was doing Friday night, but this city missed out on something truly, truly special and I am deeply grateful I was there to be a part of it.
Location Info:
Uptown Bar and Café
Artist Info: My Valkyrie, No Wait Wait, Retribution Gospel Choir
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