It was an interesting night to say the least. It turns out it was a “ladies night,” every band we saw had at the very least a female singer. And on top of that pleasant surprise, there were at most 75 people in the place and at one point as little as 25, not quite as pleasant of a surprise. Brian (MetalBoy) told me that he had seen less people there before, but that doesn’t really make it any better to see such a small crowd at the Roxy. (MB – 5/19/99: I can’t recall the date, but it was in the last month, the opening band had 4 people in the crowd and 15 at the end of their 30 minute set. A shame too.. the band was good. [Thousand Yard Stare])
We got there late, so we missed the first band, The Voids. We were hoping to see at least some of their set, but no such luck. Hopefully we’ll catch them next time around. The first band we saw play was Guess What?. Very good set, they are a good, energetic band with a very soulful singer. They are definitely worth seeing again.
Next up was Redrum. They weren’t bad, and there’s a very distinct dominatrix motif to the band. The singer, although she wasn’t wearing it this evening, wears a leather outfit with riding crop on the cd cover, and the bassist was wearing a leather mask. Different strokes for different folks, I guess hehe.
After Redrum was Doppelganger, the band we had come to the show to see. They played great as always, but the sound guy wasn’t quite on the ball. At the beginning of their set, Janna’s vocals could barely be heard at all, and it didn’t get better until about halfway through their set. However, the overall sound was great, and definitely better than the last time we saw them, at The Garage, and what little crowd there was seemed to be enjoying Doppelganger’s sound (and who wouldn’t?). They closed the set with “Mad Sky,” one of the few songs I actually know the words to. Overall, a great set from an excellent band.
The last band, The Draggs, in my humble opinion, stole the show. Not to take away from the other bands that evening, who were all good, but everything just worked for The Draggs. They just had a great on-stage presence, and really seemed to be enjoying themselves. It seemed as if they would’ve been just as happy playing for 45 people or 4,500 people, and for the first time that evening, there were people out on the floor, not just standing around it. Two songs they played that stuck in my mind were “Don’t Even Try” and a spanish version of that same song called “No Lo Trates.” Personally, I just think the same song but en espanol is a nice touch, even though I don’t speak spanish so I really don’t know what the singer, Melody, was saying. Although, I would guess it’s basically the same as the english version. Without a doubt, this is a band that you should try to see live, and keep an eye on them in the future.
I’m glad I made it to this show, and you’re sad you missed it hehe. Well, I think I’ve done enough damage here, I’ll be on my way now.
