DMP’s first show in the Triangle was inches from being cancelled last Friday night. Actually about four to five inches to be precise. As sleet and snow quickly turned driving in a straight line a pleasant memory, I had my doubts about the turnout for this show that we had been planning for almost half a year. Thankfully, those doubts were eased by the determined crowd that filled the Duke Coffeehouse to hear the Drughorse Collective play.
photo credit: Stephen Charles Photography
Comprised of talents from nine interweaving bands throughout the Triangle (keeping a tab on the actual numbers gets a bit blurry), the Drughorse Collective is producing some of the most exciting music in this area today. They clearly win the award for the most collaborative. There are distinct musical presences amongst the Drughorse Collective and yet they’ve done a remarkable job of not stepping on each other’s toes when constructing songs or performing. A Max Indian song is clearly going to sound different from one written by Ryan Gustafson and yet members of both bands are performing together seamlessly on stage. Members of the audience were treated to three very different bands on Friday night but these bands had more or less the same lineup, albeit with the musical chairs switched.
photo credit: Stephen Charles Photography
The Light Pines were the first to warm up the crowd coming in from the elements. This is a band that thrives on explosive stabs of drums and shaking bass from Josh Pope. Check out “Climbing Towards You” off the Myspace to see what I mean. This is music that can tower above you at times. Clear guitar lines from Carter Gaj of Max Indian danced over a thick layer of dual synthesizers. Songs featured the driving comfort of swelling chords over heavy-handed drums that built and lifted the groove out of washed out guitar. Capable of intricate polyrhythms for one bar and then an all out slamming, bashing explosion of the lower end on the next, the rhythm section of the Light Pines was at times more captivating than the melodies of the songs. Never having heard this band before, they quickly caught my attention Friday night and I’m pumped to get my hands on a copy of their record once it’s released for mass consumption.
photo credit: Stephen Charles Photography
Ryan Gustafson and his appropriately-titled-for-the-night Snow Angels came on second. There’s a tender quality that runs thoughout his music. They’re songs of departure and of loss that conjure Gram Parsons and that classic era in the Stones catalogue where he and Keef Richards were closest. These are songs obviously written in transit from one far away place to the next and they seem to take on a different meaning when sung back at home in Carolina. Gustafson takes on the role of the observer in his music and his contemporary folk sketches are some of the most captivating I’ve heard in recent memory. Songs like “Sudden Sadness” feature the forlorn warmth of harmonies over finger-picked guitar. “Soul Train (Red or Black)” got the kids up and dancing with its swirling breakdown in the chorus which lifts into the pained release of “please don’t go.” Live, “Let Go” had more punch than Gustafon’s version featured on the Donkey LP, but the band still captured the remarkable pain inside the song, that overwhelming sense of simply being unable. And the solo on the song’s outro still causes something inexplicable to happen in my skull every time.
photo credit: Stephen Charles Photography
Max Indian, a band never to be seen onstage without at least one fedora, has been a continually evolving act for several years now, centered around Carter Gaj and James Wallace. There’s a pop sensibility that runs through their songs which draws you in instantly. The message and feel are overtly positive without the saccharine that can sometimes come with easily appealing music. The riffs and melodies conjure the Faces in a way; music that quickly brings at least a grin as you sing along with the hook. Charles Cleaver on board with his keys brings additional warmth, filling in spaces between infectious riffs. They unveiled two new songs Friday night in addition to others heard on their 2008 release, You Can Go Anywhere, Do Anything.
photo credit: Stephen Charles Photography
Meteorologically-speaking, we may have unwittingly picked the absolute worst night to bring DMP to the Triangle. Nonetheless it was a suprisingly great turnout though it was no suprise that the music was excellent. Thanks again to Michael Reklis and the bands for an unforgettable night which is sure to be the first of many in the Triangle.
Live music, Dotmatrix style.
