by Greggory Moore
Here’s yet another installment in the effort to keep you (whomever you are) informed about the kind of thing that goes down in the southern portion of our fair city (or at {open}, at least; I don’t seem to take in a lot of music elsewhere).
First up was Pwrfl Power, a young Japanese singer/songwriter who strapped a capo across the fretboard of his 3/4-sized guitar and skillfully and feelingly fingerpicked and -strummed his way through a set of sentimental upbeat ballads that ebbed and flowed smoothly.
Things took a stylistic turn — and I mean one of about 170 degrees — with the next act, Capillary Action, a three-piece of guitar, drums, and keys. I know it’s often considered a journalistic copout to structure a description as I’m about to do, but I can think of nothing more apt than to say that they sound like a cross between Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention and Naked City. The band exhibited tight chops as they moved through their two long and ever-abruptly-changing oddball aggressiveness.
Last up was the guitar/drums duo I Heart Lung. I’ve seen them many times over the past three years, and I am always surprised that this type of combo can pull off something I enjoy. In fact, I like them better and better over time, as what I recall as something closer to (but definitely not) straight-ahead jazz leanings seems to have given way a bit to digitally-delayed layers of guitar that roll over pulsing textures of drum rhythms to create something that the Grateful Dead might have sounded like if they’d been stripped down, sans vocals, and hybridized with The Cure’s layers of repetition.
This show was presented by soundsareactive.com; and each act has an individual MySpace site (myspace.com/________). As always, you can keep abreast of the goings-on at {open} at thestoryofopen.com.