From the ashes … wait … in the wake of … no … um
I was going to start this out with a typically poetic ‘from the ashes’ type of phrase. But I decided not to since almost every new project will have a tie or two of some sort to an older one. So it’s redundant. Of course there’s just no avoiding bringing it up with Eastern Anchors. The band is made up of former members of Aviso’Hara (one of my all-time favorite bands) and Clydesdale.
And the influences of the past can definitely be heard in the present. These two bands that challenged conventional notions of pop-post-punk-hard-rock cast a long shadow after all. But the good thing here is that they’ve developed into something new. The material is consciously upbeat and drifts just left of center enough to make you cock your ears in curiosity. And that’s just the way I like it.
Rockin’ songs packed with feeling, hooks and loud guitars. Guitarist/singer Walter Greene joked after the set about how, as he gets older, the songs get faster and shorter. This I believe comes as much from wanting to keep his own adrenaline up as those caught in the musical wake. But during the set I noticed something curious about the fairly decent-sized crowd here at Maxwell’s (1039 Washington St, Hoboken).
As I maneuvered around snapping pictures and boppin’ to the music, I noticed a stillness I had not felt in a long time. It was as though I had fallen back into a Goth show of the 90s where looking bored and apathetic were somehow the highest forms of flattery. Thankfully there were no vampires here. Even so, these motionless mannequins stood firmly in place seemingly for no one in particular (also on the bill were The Groucho Marxists and The Shondes).
This was clear as guitarist Dave Urbano thanked the club and the other bands and was met by a hushed reaction and aimless banter after each try at getting a reaction. His frustrations burst loudly over the microphone in the unanswered question, “Well then who the fuck are you all here to see!?” Of course this was not going to deter me from my fun.
Tonight was only the band’s fourth or fifth show and I thought they sounded great. I look forward to hearing more.
See Also:
Photo Gallery
Eastern Anchors
Maxwell’s
