Sunday, April 03, 2005

Coxon, Britrock and The Real Draw

Let's be a little more serious about Blue Sparks, just because they deserve it. Those who still don't believe it, should come to the Mercury Lounge on April 6th at 9.30pm. This time, it's compulsory! Then, there's this piece in New York Magazine:

"Second Best. Sometimes the opening act is the real draw"

1. Morning Theft. Superdrag's John Davis may have the marketable name, but moody popsters Morning Theft are high on every indie scenester's must-see list.
2. The Donnas. No longer written off as a novelty act, rock's premier brat-punk girl band has far more cred than their headliners, Maroon 5.
3. Kevin Devine. Having opened for everyone from Bright Eyes to Dashboard Confessional, Devine now reunites with his former Miracle of 86 bandmate, Mason Dixon frontman Mike Robertson.
4. Blue Sparks. Who's the second-billed act here? The hard-rocking local foursome could easily pack the Mercury Lounge, even without the largely unknown Scottish act Speedway.

While I haven't heard Kevin Divine and The donnas, I ran into one member of Morning Theft after Graham Coxons show at the Bowery Ballroom yesterday. I was handed a demo and just listened to it. Pleasant, but not great. Same goes for the 22-20s, who opened for Coxon. They had their moments, but sometimes lapsed into boring southern style rock. The guy playing keys and looking like Eric Clapton sang great harmonies. Singer Martin Trimble - while his voice is great - was way too busy on guitar, less would have been more. Graham Coxon himself was respectable. Hey, it's not Blur, but it's getting damn close to their early stuff. Coxon is just not a band leader like Damon Albarn is, but it's great to see that he can pull it off. The guys in the band unfortunately just did their job without much creativity, except the bass player.

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