alecia harper wrote:
> 
> So, the jets were not on new year's. but what about the bad checks?
> how was their set?

ok, I'm assuming here that "bad checks" is really the name of the first
band. The cradle schedule up on the web is oudated and incorrect, and
the thing that bugs me about the cradle is they never introduce the
individual acts. And to me it is inconceivable that a band would never
even mention their own name, who they are, etc. during their show.
Needless to say, the bad checks did not. In fact, they had several mics
on stage, but I don't think any of them said a damn thing the whole
show, no chit-chat, no song titles, no lyrics, no nuthin.

However, I am quick to forgive as long as the band sounds good, which
they did. It was obvious what they want to be: a 60's surf-band. They
all had matching red satin/polyester shirts with some stylized words I
couldn't make out. The drummer used a very small kick-bass drum, the
likes of which you rarely see these days. The guitars were all rigged
with appropriate reverb but distortion free (pre-hendrix) sound
appropriate to the genre. When they started their set, they got right
into it. They sounded tight from the first song; they had obviously
practiced their set and new all the songs cold. Actually, it was a
little too cold, they were grooving out, but they looked like they
weren't having much fun...i think they need to loosen up a bit and just
flow and improvise and experiment a bit more like the original surf
bands did. (A strange dichotomy indeed compared with the jets, who were
totally trashed.)

The music itself was first wave surf, pure and simple. No cheazy gimmick
sound fx, no electric piano, just an emphasis on the two guitar line-up
and peppy drumming. The riffs were all melodic and technically clean,
and very pleasant to listen to. There was ample variation between songs,
but the target surf sound was never in doubt. The songs flowed nicely,
and overall I was impressed. I like surf to begin with, and it's a
thrill to hear it performed live. I think these guys could cut a decent
CD (Have they already? I haven't seen it, but who knows.)

I'd give em 3 stars. Certainly there's room for improvement,
particularly in their showmanship, but hell, it's the music that really
matters anyway. I'd be curious to know just how many of the songs they
played were covers (I have no way of knowing now seems how they didn't
mention any titles and my knowledge of the genre isn't that deep.) If
they wrote all the songs they played (around 8, i guess) then I'd be
very impressed.

Sorry this is so long, I just like to talk about music.

Best,
Jonathan Maier
gt3130a@prism.gatech.edu / jmaier@mindspring.com
DJ, WREK-Atlanta 91.1 fm