By: David de Young
Colonial Vipers Attack’s CD Release Party at the Turf Club Saturday night did for me what I wanted it to: it demonstrated that the potential I heard on their Oasis-influenced debut album would shine through live. Fronted by former Divorcee guitarist Chris Pavlich, The Vipers opened their set with the eponymously-titled, just-released album’s opener “Beautiful Fall.” Keyboardist Dax Eckel was still wearing his jacket, as if he’d just flown in from out of town (which he’d actually done a couple days before the show; the Faux Jean keys player moved to D.C. last fall).
If there was any question what this band was about and what it was capable of, it was answered in the very first song - slick production, soaring and melodic vocal lines, and harmonies worthy of Oasis and the Stone Roses. Locally, they land somewhere in the stack with Divorcee and Polara, and I was not at all surprised to see Landing Gear’s Jay Hurley in attendance and paying close attention.
The band mostly stuck to album tracks in order, though they sneaked in album song #9 “I Changed My Mind” in the second slot, which helped keep the momentum going. That song contains the lyric worthy of the Gallagher brothers, “You can fuck yourself, but you can’t even do that right.”
The band was loud, which was a good thing because they were filling the Hollywood Headliner slot (second from last) on a bill of even louder rock bands including Cardinal Sin and Signal to Trust. The volume of the guitars also helped because in some cases their lyrics fall short of their mark. As in the case of Oasis, the less Colonial Vipers Attack’s lyrics actually try to say something the better off they may be. (Noel Gallagher will be the first to admit that most of Oasis’ lyrics are meaningless. Have you ever read “Don’t Look Back in Anger?”.) But who cares. This is arena-style rock, and what you want are songs you can sing along with, and ballads that make you want to sway in the sunshine (or rain.) Vagueness is useful when seeking wide appeal; the last thing you want to do is give too many people too much to think about at once.
The set proceeded with almost no banter between songs, a rock star move that had the effect of making the set extremely tight. Drummer Sean Grider and bassist John Shrei held things together impeccably, Grider grandstanding during the third song, “Now you Know,” as he drummed with one hand and chugged water with the other.
The ballad “Seven Crosses” was followed by another slow one, “Panic Attack,” one of the album’s highlights. They nailed the mid-tempo rock ballad with “Waiting,” a song I’d heard them play acoustically on Radio Homegrown the Sunday before and was looking forward to hearing live. It is, however, possibly one of the album’s most derivative sounding tracks, coming on like a misplaced Travis song or one that could have been an outtake from Ian Brown’s Music of The Spheres.
“Miles Away,” on the other hand, came off like a cross between Oasis and AC/DC. (Gotta love lead guitarist Kris Johnson and his Marshall stack. Johnson has the equipment, and he’s not afraid to use it.) Grider’s drums stood out again on the song “Went So Far” (not on the album) which sounded like early New Order, if drummer Stephen Morris had only had more flair.
They finished off the set without stage banter and with another new song, “You Pulled the Rug Out.” A confident and talented new act who are enjoyable and unpretentious live, Colonial Vipers Attack are a must see band in 2006.
Setlist:
1. Beautiful Fall *
2. I Changed My Mind *
3. Now You Know *
4. Seven Crosses *
5. Panic Attack *
6. Waiting *
7. Service Secret *
8. Unnoticed *
9. Miles Away *
10. Went So Far -
11. You Pulled the Rug Out -
* album cuts
- not on the album
Photo by David de Young.
Location Info:
The Turf Club
Artist Info: Colonial Vipers Attack
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