And we’re back. This is going to be a compiled sort of review–I lost my notebook after the Radio Rubber Room show with Thai Sun, Treetop Bonfire, and Dalton Dash. But I just found it, and I’m glad I waited because instead of winging a recapitulation of that night (about a month ago), I can refer to some of the actual feelings and happenings I made note of.
And we’re back. This is going to be a compiled sort of review–I lost my notebook after the Radio Rubber Room show with Thai Sun, Treetop Bonfire, and Dalton Dash. But I just found it, and I’m glad I waited because instead of winging a recapitulation of that night (about a month ago), I can refer to some of the actual feelings and happenings I made note of. We’ll also be discussing the latest RRR event, with Goldrush and The Inflatables; it was a serious treat and a luxury afforded to few.
So, back on that lovely evening nigh on two fortnights ago, Thai Sun initiated the jigglin’. It turns out these guys had primarily played house parties up to that point, and this was evident in a good carefree sense. House parties provide a great way to learn how to feel loose on stage, whatever stage is afforded. I dug Thai Sun’s floaty bass lines and lackadaisical (I hate how this word is always used in a negative manner) riffy guitars. They would have called Zeppelin to mind even if the lead singer didn’t have Robert Plant’s hair and stage manner. Lastly, the drummer had some pretty impressive chops. Here in my notes, it says they were caught in this funny motion on stage, bobbing their heads as if doing the Charlie Brown kid’s dance (the pigeon-toed kid with the slammin’ dance moves; apparently his name is actually 555-95472, which is really weird). Anyways, Thai Sun has a good deal of potential, and leave it up to Radio Rubber Room to bring out another cool new rock band for us.
Treetop Bonfire was a bit of a different animal, and my notes on them are brief. This is largely because they decided to cover Sublime’s “What I Got,” followed by Third Eye Blind’s “Semi-Charmed Life” – which I am certainly not ashamed to say I think is a great song. Shit, that whole album was great. It had like six singles on it. But, if you’re going to play that song, you should probably do it the justice of playing all the parts right. Otherwise you’ll end up getting a review something like this.
Dalton Dash, which started as a folk duo between guitarist Pat Keefe and bassist Justin Doyle, has grown into a rotating free-for-all of our city’s fine young musicians. Andrew Carper, Andrew Sisk, and the PBR boys, among others, are semi-regular accoutrements to the Dalton Dash set. And, as a Radford alumnus, I’m actually familiar with the concept of the “Dalton Dash”, Dalton being the food hall down there, and the “dash” being the uh, well, attempt to not shit your pants on the way home. Though the project is more or less a ‘just keepin’ busy’ sort of thing outside of Matt Jones and the Bobs, Dalton Dash is always a good bet. Fun for the whole family.
Now, travel two weeks forward in time to Emilio’s to find Ben Butterworth’s Inflatables of yore, and the illustrious Goldrush. Both of these bands are outfitted with people who are far better musicians than I a writer, so I feel a bit out of place writing anything that resembles a “review” for them. No review necessary. On a night where Radio Rubber Room was announcing its momentous relaunch, it was honestly pretty touching and endearing that a great band like Goldrush would come out and support the show, and all the more, for The Inflatables to uhh, re-inflate for the occasion.
Ben Butterworth had a wee bit to say about that evening. “It’s been pretty sporadic over the past two years, and that kind of makes me sad, but I’m really happy that we got to do the show recently, and particularly with the lineup that we had. It brought together two versions, one with original members, Corey and Jesse Wells, and with Stavros Calos, who was a big part of the band’s second lineup.”
Photo by Todd Raviotta
This week at Emilio’s Downtown, located at 1847 W. Broad St, we get to see two more truly impressive acts, one of which is brand spanking new – Common Wealth RVA, comprised of Luke Booth, Tim Pietrovito, Nelson Rich, Richard Rhodemyre, and Jackson Shurlds. This is a No Fucking Around lineup of veterans, and I’m extremely excited to hear this happen. To top the drama, The Welcome Hips, another veteran collaboration will finish us off. This one, you simply must not miss. 10pm at Emilio’s Downtown Wednesday night! For more info, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/295243250643358
