By Thomas Stanford
London’s
Cavern Club is one of those “I played there…” places in this world
that any rock ‘n’ roll band would kill to have on their travel itinerary.
Its historical significance is obvious, but in the case of Buffalo’s own
Thermidors, it also seems a glovey fit for their sound. The Thermidors
have had such a privilege, and tonight at Buffalo’s parallel, the Mohawk Place,
they will release their new, 27-minute, 10-song CD, all for the low, low price
of zero dollars.
A four piece–three of whom sing leads (sounding
familiar?)–these lads jangle-out a sound that not only harkens back to those
fab, but of more contemporary groups such as the Libertines, the Strokes and
maybe a touch of earlier Blur. The voicebox of one of the three singers even
sounds eerily like Blur/Gorillaz lead, Damon Albarn.
The CD
itself bounces all over the place like a superball, with those kinds of rhythms
and smooth vocals that can make your head swing back and forth, or get a toe
planted firmly into the ground so as to swing it around in a semi-circle
pattern. But before you’ve truly gotten your groove down, they’ll switch
gears and serenade you with brief but pretty little numbers, only to fly back
into a dirty, high-paced hair-shaker. And then, suddenly, it’s all over,
which sent me to the Internet to see if I couldn’t dig up some more.
Joining the
Thermidors tonight will be Harvest Sum alternative-act, Bearhunter (who’s song
“White Crayon” is brilliant, with the rest of their album not far
behind), and local shoegazers Pennsylvania & Gold.
Also, Mohawk
Place has recently been purchased by Scott Leary, owner of Papa Jake’s Saloon on Elmwood, from now-former owner Pete Perrone, so you
may notice some renovations going on there. We’ve heard that a new sound
system will be in place by the end of this weekend, as well as other upgrades
to come down the line like a new sound/DJ booth and a couple televisions to
show some Sabres hockey, or what have you, on the off-nights.
Mohawk has
always been the hub for Buffalo’s original music scene, but improving its sound
quality has been a long-time coming, and opening its doors on their usual down-time
for a simple hang out crowd is pretty smart. Mohawk used to be a place to just
go to any night of the week, not only for the live music, but as its own scene
in general, so maybe they can recapture some of that light. I, for one,
representing many, am very excited.
The
Thermidors CD Release with Bearhunter and Pennsylvania & Gold
Tonight, 10/9, 9PM
NO COVER (CD is
also FREE)