By: Bob Longmore
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Karl Qualey of The Deaths - Photo by Bob Longmore
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I walked into the Uptown halfway through the opening act, Madison’s Charlemagne. They consisted of two guitar players, one electric and one acoustic, and a drum machine, and they played decent indie-rock songs. The one problem with canned drums, however, is that they are always going to sound like canned drums. When you add a robotic member to a band, the whole band becomes beholden to that robot.
As The Deaths began to play, Jeff Esterby was mostly hidden behind his stack of keyboards. It seemed to be a fitting metaphor for their sound, as their live show was an organ-drenched retro rock affair. With the help of bassist Mark Shumacher and drummer Tom Stromsodt, Esterby and guitarist Karl Qualey front a 60s-inspired psychedelic rock band.
Immediately upon playing, The Deaths start to break down any preconceptions that the listener might have about their band. The Deaths sound nothing like you would think their name implies, and The Deaths don’t look like they sound. The listener expects giant British Invasion-type rock gods, but instead get four white guys from North Dakota.
Both singers had an indescribably big sounds, which which was surprising given their wiry bodies. They look like the typical indie-rock band boys that can be found at any bar on any night of the week, but the tinny indie-rock warble was definitely absent. With their strong and unique voices, Qualey and Esterby harmonized with ghostly beauty and with the precision of a vintage pop band. Their song “See You Tomorrow” epitomized this trait, as they sang:
I really should be home in bed
Instead of wasting all my
Ti-i-i-i-ime
The song was peppered with otherworldly ooh’s, aah’s and la la la’s, and crested with the two singers stretching out the word “time” so powerfully that it made the members in the audience sit up and raise an eyebrow. It was not the sloppy stuff of modern music, but the crafted skill of days gone by.
The Deaths were able to pull off this professionalism with no problems live. With Esterby and bassist Shumacher hiding behind a shield of keyboards, Qualey was the only one exposed on the front of the stage. And with the location of the Uptown’s stage, Qualey seemed to be stuck in the corner of stage left by himself.
Qualey had a laugh with his bandmates as he teased the Rolling Stones' “Start Me Up,” before launching into their own song, “The Sisters.” No doubt this gig was a tune up for the band as they prepare to head down to Texas to play South by Southwest later in the month. If this show was indicative of their skills, then they should do just fine at SXSW. They ended the night by thanking the small crowd and settling into an organ and guitar sound storm, which they eventually steered into “Birmingham,” the first song off their album, “Choir Invisible.”
Location Info:
Uptown Bar and Café
Artist Info: Charlemagne, The Deaths
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