Last Wednesday at The Republic, Radio Rubber Room presented an evening with The Dream Machine and The Kindling Kind – two bands whose development I’ve had a keen eye on over the last four years, notably the ever-solidifying rhythmic element of The Kindling Kind.
Last Wednesday at The Republic, Radio Rubber Room presented an evening with The Dream Machine and The Kindling Kind – two bands whose development I’ve had a keen eye on over the last four years, notably the ever-solidifying rhythmic element of The Kindling Kind.
As I recall, what I first took from The Dream Machine’s live show was this strangely, powerfully dynamic stage presence. Maybe it was the array of the band’s collective shapes and sizes. Of course, back then it was the towering tree-like figure of Brian Riley on bass, now replaced by Gabe Santamaria, whose playing alone is enough to dwarf anything in the physical realm.
You’ve got Justin Shear, a man of non-assuming stature, shredding harder on guitar than I can generally comprehend. And Hunnicutt, a sweaty rock creature looking as if he’s come directly from a medieval hippie festival. I love it. Last week I heard The Dream Machine flaunting the best part about their music – the punchy drum kicks and guitar slams that make their songs what they are.
I always like a good mash-up, too, which TDM has always been good for. In their closing Brainstew/Fuck Tha Police mash-up, Hunnicutt laid on thick his fervent distaste for those unsavory policemen. Tell ‘em.
The Kindling Kind is exploring a lot of different sound mixtures on stage. As I’ve said before, their mix is generally superb – not necessarily the mix yielded by the soundman, but the sound they’ve harnessed themselves. I get the impression that they sound almost exactly as they wish to sound.
Most notably, they use their mix of instrumentation to create hybrid rhythm compounds. Stringing together a warm, distorted guitar with the high-chime of Miriam’s acoustic, along with a well-placed high hat line – that’s what I’m talking about. The band is made up entirely of percussionists in their own right.
This is a project where I see all members as hyper-responsible in their roles, either by nature or whip-cracking, either way it’s working. Very well. The Kindling Kind has arched into a genre much more artful, much more professional it seems, and they exude this on stage.
This Wednesday at The Republic, I’m delighted to say Radio Rubber Room will be presenting two bands that I’ve never reviewed before; The Green Boys, along with The Last Call Gospel Choir. I encourage readers to go ahead and look at Last Call’s facebook page – these guys are funny. For instance, their “About” description reads “god damn time.” That’s good stuff, and it makes me want to see them play, so job well done.
The Green Boys ought to be a pretty tasty morsel of music. Within their ‘country revival’ genre, The Green Boys achieve an eclectic assortment of styles. Two new bands on a Wednesday night, my stars, that sounds delectable; The Republic, 10pm.
https://www.facebook.com/events/426816637409750/
Words by Dan Mulrooney
Images by Louis Reichbauer
