Mobile
Monday, April 19, 2010
Photos / Live Reviews / News Live review: Red All Over
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 11:51 AM
Red All Over w/ The Alcazar Hotel
Snug Harbor
April 16, 2010
The Deal: Local rockers don't hold back for small crowd at Plaza Midwood venue.
The Good: By the time I got to the venue (having just left the Carolina Chocolate Drops), The Alcazar Hotel was already on stage and in full swing. The Chapel Hill band fused together rock with punk, surf and hints of something from the '50s into an amalgam that was as entertaining to listen to as the band was to watch. Singer Will Dawson was on and off the stage regularly, crawling on the floor and engaging the small audience in every way that he could amidst the sporadic, but well-placed, feedback charges in the songs from guitarist Edward Stanley.
Red All Over hit the stage with "Start a Fire," their light show in full effect — the band uses two spinning globes and a smoke machine to evoke quite an aura around them. Singer Eliza Gray has a great stage presence, as does bassist Jarrett Bury. The two made the most of the small stage and Gray often found her way into the crowd to sing face-to-face.
The band tried out a couple of new songs amidst their set that used a backing track at times to fill out their sound. That's not to take anything away from the musicianship of the group as the tracks simply gave depth to what was being performed live — the addition of techno hints and additional drum beats.
Bury had his bass up in the air, feet kicking out and was beyond comfortable on stage. The band's set included "Taste of Honey," "Thicker Skin," "Pretty Ones," "Crime" and "One More Kiss" and ended with "Round and Round."
The Bad: At times, the volume was a bit overwhelming, creating a wall of sound that made it difficult to discern one song from the next and hard to decipher lyrics. Not that every song needs a hook, but there needs to be a more definable element to each song to make it more memorable. I will say, the band's recorded songs on MySpace are more identifiable than they were in the live performance due to volume.
Both bands deserved more of a crowd than the 20-or-so people who were in attendance.
The Verdict: Stage presence and musicianship count for a helluva lot these days and both bands easily command attention from the audience. However, when there's a large visual element to a performance, there needs to be music that's equally as attention-grabbing — you want it to be a compliment to the music and not a distraction. In both cases, it was the visual aspect that remained in my head long after the music had faded away.
Speaking of...
Comments (2)
Showing 1-2 of 2
Latest in Vibes
-
Chvrches ups the energy
Oct 17, 2018 -
Florence & The Machine offer a vocal showcase in Charlotte area
Oct 4, 2018 -
Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and Friends entertain with wit, classic arts
Oct 2, 2018 - More »
More by Jeff Hahne
-
Chvrches ups the energy
Oct 17, 2018 -
Florence & The Machine offer a vocal showcase in Charlotte area
Oct 4, 2018 -
Bill Murray, Jan Vogler and Friends entertain with wit, classic arts
Oct 2, 2018 - More »
-
Rain doesn't dampen the party with Kesha and Macklemore
Both sets cut short as storms roll through Charlotte, N.C.
-
Live review: Fiona Apple, The Fillmore (9/26/2012) 16
Fans ate it up, but it was a trainwreck of tragic and frustrating proportions.
-
Frank Ocean tops Village Voice Pazz & Jop poll
Annual critics list creates requisite buzz
