Truth be told, that's all there is to it.
Picture this: a television-pretty girl in short-shorts stands before a keyboard player with a jewfro and glasses, a bassist playing his guitar high enough that he could tweak his own nipple with a flick of the wrist, a guitarist who didn't make the Panic at the Disco! audition because he's got acne scars, and a drummer who needed a signed permission slip to stay out late enough for the show. You could almost visualize him loading his kit into the back of his mom's Civic. And there ain't no city sticker, that's for sure.
Vocalist Leslie Hunt (a recent American Idol reject who has a far more palatable solo career) fronts this five-piece ensemble of Dungeons and Dragons math rock. Hunt's voice is obviously the highlight of this quintet, but due to some very questionable logic, her talents are only utilized in every other song (by my count, four in the set - hey, it is prog rock), and at that, only every 24 bars or so.
Each song featured a barrage of light-speed triplets from the bassist (which is admirable for someone who plays without a pick), but after it kept on (and on and on), I started to get that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that only happens when I get to the last castle in Super Mario. That could, however, be the effect of listening to King Koopa's own personal soundtrack for 30 minutes straight. The drummer, while capable of what he was trying to accomplish, seemed to be forcing each time change. While math rock is just that, there is a lot to be said for feeling and understanding a groove, even if it's in 7/8. The keyboard player was a source of much amusement - and not just because of his overwhelming Semitic image. He seemed to be on top of his game, leading the band towards a more tangible sound. He could still use a few years playing with someone over the age of 25 before he can play a worthy role in a prog rock band, but the kid has potential.
Insert Intoxikatie's favourite joke ever:
Q. What are the two kinds of keyboard players?
A. Jewish and bad.
Math rock is one of those dishes best served lukewarm. There has to be a balance with current popular music trends in order to remain relevant and, frankly, listenable. District 97, while appearing to be very talented players individually (and likely all freaky jazz majors at any number of local institutions I've dropped out of), have very little chemistry on stage - musically or aesthetically. Perhaps that 20-sided die should be saved for their roleplaying, not choosing the next change in time signature.
Myspace
3 comments:
I personally wouldn't call them math rock, just prog rock with a sort of contemporary pop, or like you said, American Idol thing going on. their recordings on their myspace page were pretty bad. the drummer sounded pretty good, but I think you mentioned it, all their songs sound pretty similar. meh, I'm disappointed. I usually love this stuff. Prog rock usually only works with some sort of darkness or heaviness to it, imo. When it starts to use too many major scales and whatnot (not the most educated on music theory) they just sound like a showoffy jam band... which means at least they are better than a regular jam band.
Hi,
My name is Jonathan Schang, I'm the drummer for District 97. Believe it or not, I'm going to be 25 Tuesday. I'll take the assessment of my youthful appearance as a compliment. And, for the record, our keyboard player is NOT Jewish, but I am.
Intoxikatie, I appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed critique of the band, even though it wasn't exceedingly positive. Bear in mind, the show you reviewed was only the second (we played our third last night)with our vocalist, Leslie Hunt, so yes she was under-utlized. We strated as an instrumental group, so I've been hard at work writing music that will fully integrate her into our sound. She sang on the vast majority of the set last night.
I understand your criticisms, but this band is continuing to change and grow, so I wouldn't write us off at this early stage. Most feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We're in a state of finding a new musical identity as we now have such a great vocalist to incorporate, so you may be surprised with what you hear at the next show. Drop me a line at schangathan@hotmail.com to join the mailing list. Either way, thanks for the publicity and the link to our Myspace page!
@JSchang:
It's always nice to see a flash of maturity from someone responding to criticism (constructive or otherwise). You go up a few points in Intoxikatie's book. :)
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