brakesbrakesbrakes/Pela/Electric Soft Parade @ Maxwell's

The tour is billed at The Freewheeling Tour, but I would like to think of it as the Killing Two Birds with One Stone as the brothers White are part of both Brakes and Electric Soft Parade.

Brakes is the harder rocking side of the Whites with Eamon Hamilton of British Sea Power taking over on vocals. Their second effort together is available here through that fantastic deal Rough Trade made with World's Fair. So now, we can all enjoy the three-minute or less songs off of Beautiful Visions. Although they can smash it up with their fast rock songs, the album has a few more acoustic rock style songs like "Spring Chicken."

All I was prepared to stick around for them, I had to bail out after two songs because I was tuckered out -- got my drink on in the afternoon at the company picnic, went home, napped, woke up and headed to Maxwell's. By the time they took the stage at 12:30, I was pretty cranky. Yeah, I have an excuse for everything.

I've heard Pela about through a lot of ther blogs and I have received my share of press releases on them, but never bothered to check them out until tonight. They didn't do much for me, even though the crowd increased in numbers when they took the stage. They're kind of like a frat rock band making indie music. The lead singer's voice is just all over the places, he's screaming and growling, making the music sound awkward. The vocals and music just don't work. I was trying to get into them musically, because they do have a good drummer, but it wasn't coming together for me. Although, I did like the driving, locomotive nature of "Waiting on the Stairs," which sounds like an early U2 song.

Obviously, I was there to see and meet up with Andy and Tom in their Electric Soft Parade form. As you've read in my interview with Andy, I think No Need To Be Downhearted is their best work to date, so I wouldn't hear as much I could from them. At first, I was getting a little worried because the songs didn't have the impact live as they did on record. Luckily, the set was building towards an apex, so it got better and better with each song. "Cold World" broke my worries and it came off as lively and fun. "Have You Ever Felt Like It Was Too Late" was great as well -- a lot power was packed into that song, even though it's just four guys and a keyboard. Of all the bands tonight, they were the most chatty and enthusiastic to be playing Maxwell's.

Comments

[joly]

I'm going to stick up some video as soon as I can unravel the set lists. This is what I have on ESP:

beating
cold world
silent
misunderstood
mr have you ever felt like it's too late
no need 2
if...
everyb.

Also it seems they preface the name of the band with the definite article, awkwardly on e might say.

I thought they were excellent btw,