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Review Thu Mar 03 2011
Review: Cheap Time, Zoobombs, Ramma Lamma @ Empty Bottle, 3/2
Cheap Time and Ramma Lamma bookended a very rock'n'roll night at the Empty Bottle with tight sets leaning toward garage rock. Ramma Lamma's male/female vocals are always good for wailing and the short songs keep their momentum humming. Cheap Time's catchiness fits perfectly in with other current gritty rock bands leaning toward power-pop. Though their new record Fantastic Explanations (and Similar Situations) doesn't pack the same jolt as their self-titled debut, its songs came across lively and the band, like Ramma Lamma, left little room for chatter in a brief set. Perhaps as a statement to living in the now (after some personnel changes), they relied mostly on Fantastic Explanations for the set and only played "Glitter & Gold" from their first LP.
But it was Zoobombs who brought the spectacle. The Japanese foursome plowed through psych-rock, punk, a little metal and a lot of noise. Singer Don Matsuo flailed around the stage, spastically playing his guitar, smacking the keyboards and using whomever's microphone he was closest to. He sang, he screamed, he yelped. When Zoobombs rocked, they did so with gusto much like a Jon Spencer. (I guess they learned something while on the road with him.) Although their highs were the highest of the evening, their lows were the lowest. Seemingly endless noise - meandering organs, guitar feedback, intermittent percussion - broke up songs that had been chugging along. The sparse crowd took it as breaks to amble between the bar and a comfortable distance from the stage. But when they had focus, they brought the heat and that certainly outweighed the lulls.
