speed of dark

Indie Mom and I went to the Echoplex for the first time Thursday, November 15, to see Division Day and Eulogies, whom we had seen only a month ago at the Echo, and Film School whom we had not seen before. Both the Plex and its much smaller sibling the Echo are a bit like secret clubhouses where you can almost imagine having to whisper a password to get in. Neither has a sign, and they lurk in dark places in (putting it kindly) a run-down area of the city. We parked next to a homeless person's campsite on the sidewalk then trucked down the street looking for the alley where the Echoplex's doorway was hidden.

The Plex, although set up more like a dance club, has a bigger stage, better sound, and better lighting than the Echo. I was more pleased with my photos this time; however, for the record, I think overdoing the red lighting sucks and makes everyone look like they were boiled. Let's have a little white light in there, OK? Green helps too.

Division Day

Division Day played basically the same set that we heard at the Echo performance, but they seemed much more relaxed, which singer/keyboardist Rohner Segnitz confirmed after the set, saying that the band had felt "under pressure" at the CD release show. Songs included a gorgeous and powerful rendition of "Colorguard" and "Malachite," a new song that will be on their next album.

I had a chance after their set to talk to drummer Kevin Lenhart about the band's methods of songwriting and the new album. He said they hope to release the album by next September, but they have a lot of work and writing to do to meet that goal. Songwriting supports Rohner Segnitz's lyrics but is approached as a team effort. One person will come up with a riff or groove, and the others add and build on it to create the song. He suggested that there may be a move toward more individual songwriting for the next CD.

I love to watch Kevin play. He makes the funniest faces, but he moves so fast he's hard to catch in a photo. I turned my flash on this time and finally captured him. I love that I caught Seb Bailey laughing too.

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Division Day: Hurricane from Beatrap Island (2007)

Division Day MySpace | Website | Label: Eenie Meenie Records
Buy at Eenie Meenie Store, Amazon, and iTunes
More about Division Day on Speed of Dark: Review of Beartrap Island


Film School



Both Indie Mom and I have liked Film School's recordings but thought that this live performance did not reproduce those as well as we would have liked. Singer Greg Bertens' vocals and Lorelei Plotczyk's harmonies could not be heard in the dense mix of reverb and distortion that is the band's trademark. The performance was definitely energetic--especially because of Bertens and hyperactive guitarist Dave Dupuis. As a personal touch, Bertens related with self-deprecating humor a story about an unfortunate crotch-related tennis accident he'd had that day. More interaction with the audience would be great.

Most songs were from this year's CD Hideout, although they also played "He's a Deep Deep Lake" and "11:11" from Film School and "Intentions" from 2001's Brilliant Career.

The audience seemed to take the band off-guard by demanding an encore. Two fans even argued about what song it should be. "On and On!" one guy kept yelling. "Florida!" responded the other. Instead they played "Dear Me" and followed that with a song I didn't recognize. Leave a comment if you can fill in that blank.

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Film School: Dear Me from Hideout (2007)

MySpace | Website | Label: Beggars Banquet | Lyrics
Buy at Beggars Group, Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic

Previous post about Film School on Speed of Dark


Eulogies

Eulogies have just returned home from touring for several weeks with Film School and Land of Talk, and singer/guitarist Peter Walker and our friend bassist Tim Hutton were recovering from some awful flu. Peter, whose wife is a doctor, had taken the traditional pharmaceutical cure. Tim's girlfriend gave him the homeopathic treatment, which he thought was taking longer to complete. Nonetheless, they seemed much more comfortable onstage than when we saw them previously, with Peter moving away from the microphone to play a fantastic jam at one point. They offered more banter with each other and the audience this time, which I hope they'll continue to develop.

Another nice touch was that Lorelei from Film School joined them to sing harmony on one song. Adding a female vocalist is a possible new direction that Eulogies might consider taking to add depth to their sound.

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Eulogies: Big Eyes from their self-titled debut CD

MySpace | Website | Label: Dangerbird Records
Buy at Dangerbird Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com

Previous post about Eulogies on Speed of Dark