1/19/08 - Gein & the Graverobbers,
SPF-4, and The Wake The Wake
in Providence RI
I am very remiss in posting this late review, but wanted to bring attention
to this show even after the fact.
On Sat. Jan. 19 Mike & I drove out to Providence RI to catch Surf Night at
Jerky's on 71 Richmond St. I understand this was a Surf Night set up by the
club, hopefully with more to follow. There was a very good crowd at the club,
which had a large stage area and plenty of room on the sides for multiple-band
equipment. Throughout the night I was very impressed with the crowd - they stood
up front and were really interested in the music (as you know, often this is not
the case in clubs with live music). Some of the crowd were there specifically to
see one or another of the 3 bands, but many seemed to be there just for surf
music in general.
First was The Wake The Wake, a brand-new Providence band; some of the members
live right down the street from the club, and most of them are avid surfers.
Their typical 3-piece line-up was complemented by a keyboard and bongos. They
played all original instrumental, surf-ish tunes at this, their very first gig
playing out. I am always impressed when bands go straight for the originals! The
band members were very nice, and very interested to learn of the larger surf
scene, and they were very appreciative of the other two veteran bands on the
bill. Check out this new band at
www.myspace.com/thewakethewake
Next up - SPF-4! These guys are all excellent musicians, and super-professional,
with one of the strongest lead dual-guitar attacks on the scene today. I had not
heard them in a while, and was very pleasantly surprised to hear a set of almost
all originals! They have really been writing up a storm, and we can look forward
to these tunes on an upcoming CD that I believe is being recorded now. Rob &
Dave can write some VERY pretty melodies, and they bring a variety of influences
to their surf sound.
Finally - the crowd was ready for Gein & the Graverobbers! I had not heard these
guys in a while either, and they sounded very strong and powerful. Some of this
was due to their new bass player, who not only played the bass, but spanked,
slapped, chopped, punched, and used other non-traditional techniques to get the
rough, creepy sounds called for by Gein's music. Gein & Myra were in fine form,
very up-front, energized (in a ghoulish way) and very entertaining while
delivering forceful music. Sloth on drums played hard, and looked
sufficiently crazy doing it to add to the band's overall effect.
There hasn't been much surf music in Providence in a while - let's keep this
foot in the door, and hope that surf nights continue at Jerky's! Thanks Gein,
SPF-4, and The Wake The Wake for a great show!
Sandy
Sandy ("Oceana") of 9th Wave
Surf Flute/Farfisa Organ/Rhythm Guitar
www.9thwavesurf.com
sandy9thwave@yahoo.com
Member North East Surf Music Alliance (NESMA)
www.nesmasurf.org
