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Forces were working against me trying to get to The Bitter
End (147 Bleecker St, NYC) tonight. The bus from Hoboken was
running thirty minutes late. Once in the city there were no
'A' trains in sight so I had to take the local downtown. Hordes
of bridge and tunnel youngsters blocking my walk from Sixth
Ave to the club.
I thought I was gonna be too late to see D'Haene but as my
only bit of luck would have it, the club was running a little
behind schedule. So I was actually now a little early. I celebrated
with a drink at the bar and ran into backing vocalist Nicole
Bradin. I had met her and singer Bob D'Haene at Club Midway
earlier in the week when The Majestic Twelve were in town.
Aside from liking their music, I'm not ashamed to admit that
Nicole was my reason for being here. What can I say, I'm a
sucker for a pretty face and she's the one who told me about
the show. Sorry Bob, I mean you're cute but...
The band's sound is a classic rock mix borrowing from many
influences. Soulful, bluesy and not afraid to pay homage to
some progressive rock sensibility. I cite for example one
Jethro Tull inspired flute-like keyboard solo.
Fine musicianship without being at all 'showy'. Fantastic
guitar work from Riley McMahon. He get's this sweet, nasty
growl out of this monster red guitar complete with a Bigsby
Tremolo and heart shaped fret markers. I think he told me
afterwards that it was a custom built job.
They have a super tight rhythm section and their keyboardist
was playing all the bell parts. It was a little confusing
for me at first. My ears didn't know where to look, so to
speak. But it soon all came together and you should check
them out.
See Also:
myspace.com/dhaene
The Bitter
End
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