On Sunday, Richmond-native Ghost Lotion and Ike as in Dwight played a show at Weezie’s Kitchen in Carytown.
Weezie’s Kitchen is a nice-looking, family-owned restaurant named after the proprietor’s deceased pug. On Sunday the place was packed with college kids looking to see the show or grab some drinks at the bar.
It seems like a great place to get a relaxing Sunday dinner, but it was a bit cramped as a music venue. Indeed, at least one family (with a baby) seemed unpleasantly surprised to learn that a concert would be held during their dinner.
Ike as in Dwight played first and they were remarkably sweet and charming. The four-piece was delighted to be playing in Richmond, relating that this was only their second gig outside of their native Blacksburg, VA (their first being Friday, 6/11 in Roanoke). They were extremely gracious and happy to be there, which of course made the audience even happier to be there, as well.
They played a full set of exuberant folk songs laden with pretty piano melodies and gorgeous vocal harmonies. Vocalist and keyboardist Scott Robins, with his gentle cooing, sounds a little like James Mercer of The Shins.
Robin’s voice is understated enough to perfectly complement the singing of Maya Renfro, who also plays guitar. Her strong, clear voice brings every song to a new level. She sounds good when singing softly, but her voice is best suited for loudly belting out lyrics over the rest of the song, like a well-tuned trumpet ringing out. Certainly, the small venue had trouble containing her enormous voice.
Ike as in Dwight showed their versatility during the set, which included, among others, standout track “Wolves,” which wouldn’t sound out of place on a Fleet Foxes album, a keyboard-only ballad from Robins, a soft, solo piece by Renfro and an endearing and humorous cover of the Pete & Pete Theme Song.
As Ghost Lotion set up, the difference between the bands could be seen in the number of effect pedals laid out on the floor. While Ike as in Dwight utilized a natural, organic sound, Ghost Lotion’s songs were filled with layered guitars and heavy instrumentation.
The songs, densely populated with guitar, bass and drums sounded, from the outset of the show, heavily influenced by Radiohead, especially some of their earlier work. This influence was confirmed near the end of the show when Ghost Lotion covered two Radiohead songs including “Weird Fishes”. They also covered Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So”.
Ghost Lotion clearly wears its influences on its sleeve, any band that closes with three covers by two of the most well-known bands in the world would have to, but on their original songs they separate themselves enough to enjoy.
The songs streaming on their website are less noisy and rock driven than they seemed Sunday night. During the Weezie’s set they were a fairly straightforward rock band, with interesting instrumentation. The vocals were good, if a bit uneven at times and the two guitars added a nice depth to their noisy sound.
While Weezie’s Kitchen may not be the perfect music venue, it does its job: it allows fans of good music to hear local bands for free and gives those bands a forum to get their music out. And at least on Sunday, the music was definitely worth coming out for.
Ike as in Dwight has a show scheduled for 6/17 at the Seven Day Weekend in Greensboro, NC.
No comments:
Post a Comment