The Detroit Cobras @ Slim's
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
The Detroit Cobras (w/ Dan Sartain, The Willowz)
(Slim's, San Francisco CA, 08/17/07)
Three weeks after the stupendous Grinderman show, I find myself again at Slim's to see The Detroit Cobras. Traffic is favorable this time around and I get in a bit before The Willowz kick off the evening. I find a spot to lean on the bar, sip a beer, and relax. I don't know much about this Anaheim band, but I can tell their set is weighted less towards their folky than their bluesy, psychedelic, and punky side. Even though The Willowz are a little Southern to my taste, wailing numbers like "Cons & Tricks" are very effective, and I like them very well for openers. Towards the end of the set, the leadman Richie James Follin gets the word that Dan Sartain is running late in getting to the venue. So of course the band gets off the stage in the middle of "Evil Son" to leave the drummer Loren Humphrey alone for a six-minute drum solo before climbing back to finish the song.
We aren't running too badly late, however, since Dan Sartain can set up quickly. He performs just with a drummer, tearing through a brief but effective set of punky rockabilly, emitting a surprisingly rich voice for such a thin bloke through his pencil mustache. The songs go by fast and you can't help but tap along.
The Detroit Cobras take the stage without much ado, Rachel Nagy occupying the limelight in her knee-high go-go boots, Mary Ramirez ripping chords from her rhythm guitar on the right, the guys on lead guitar, bass, and drums to the left taking care most of the backing vocals.
As fellow mogger Jenny observed (in an earlier review), The Detroit Cobras are scholars of the mostly forgotten rock and soul, unearthing obscure yesteryear nuggets for us to enjoy in rawer renditions. Having some interest in '60s soul, I'd heard some of the songs before hearing the Cobras' covers, but hearing the rest has sent me to explore such lesser known artists as Garnet Mimms and The Cookies, so their being a cover band doesn't really work much against them in my book.
The Detroit Cobras are a very tight band and have undeniable scruffy and raunchy rock allure. But this show is merely good, not amazing. Although the vocals sound to me a little low in the mix (and what carries the band are Nagy's alternately belting and cooing whiskey-and-cigarettes vocals), that's probably because I'm standing between the stage and the PAs. What miffs me is rather that it feels like the band are holding back a bit and yet in a hurry. This doesn't much hurt the fast-shuffle numbers which the set list is heavy on. Songs like "I'll Keep Holding On", "Shout Bama Lama", and "99 And A Half Won't Do" just kind of skitter by. But "Midnight Blues", for instance, sound rushed instead of smoldering. This is a pity, since, apart from Nagy's improvisation on the vocal melodies on "Bad Girl", it's when they successfully slow down for such mid-tempo numbers as "The Hurt's All Gone" (by the lovely Irma Thomas) and especially "As Long As I Have You" (by the aforementioned Garnet Mimms) that the set finds its strongest, most breathtaking and transporting moments. (Sadly, no "He Did It" (by The Ronettes) or "Breakaway" (by Irma Thomas).) The set isn't particularly short (with a six-song encore, it lasts about 80 minutes), but its rushed quality makes it feel short. What I saw were glimpses of just how blistering The Detroit Cobras can be on stage. I hope to see more of that the next time (something I'm looking forward to) so that I can walk out with an even greater feeling of warm glow.
(Slim's, San Francisco CA, 08/17/07)
Three weeks after the stupendous Grinderman show, I find myself again at Slim's to see The Detroit Cobras. Traffic is favorable this time around and I get in a bit before The Willowz kick off the evening. I find a spot to lean on the bar, sip a beer, and relax. I don't know much about this Anaheim band, but I can tell their set is weighted less towards their folky than their bluesy, psychedelic, and punky side. Even though The Willowz are a little Southern to my taste, wailing numbers like "Cons & Tricks" are very effective, and I like them very well for openers. Towards the end of the set, the leadman Richie James Follin gets the word that Dan Sartain is running late in getting to the venue. So of course the band gets off the stage in the middle of "Evil Son" to leave the drummer Loren Humphrey alone for a six-minute drum solo before climbing back to finish the song.
We aren't running too badly late, however, since Dan Sartain can set up quickly. He performs just with a drummer, tearing through a brief but effective set of punky rockabilly, emitting a surprisingly rich voice for such a thin bloke through his pencil mustache. The songs go by fast and you can't help but tap along.
The Detroit Cobras take the stage without much ado, Rachel Nagy occupying the limelight in her knee-high go-go boots, Mary Ramirez ripping chords from her rhythm guitar on the right, the guys on lead guitar, bass, and drums to the left taking care most of the backing vocals.
As fellow mogger Jenny observed (in an earlier review), The Detroit Cobras are scholars of the mostly forgotten rock and soul, unearthing obscure yesteryear nuggets for us to enjoy in rawer renditions. Having some interest in '60s soul, I'd heard some of the songs before hearing the Cobras' covers, but hearing the rest has sent me to explore such lesser known artists as Garnet Mimms and The Cookies, so their being a cover band doesn't really work much against them in my book.The Detroit Cobras are a very tight band and have undeniable scruffy and raunchy rock allure. But this show is merely good, not amazing. Although the vocals sound to me a little low in the mix (and what carries the band are Nagy's alternately belting and cooing whiskey-and-cigarettes vocals), that's probably because I'm standing between the stage and the PAs. What miffs me is rather that it feels like the band are holding back a bit and yet in a hurry. This doesn't much hurt the fast-shuffle numbers which the set list is heavy on. Songs like "I'll Keep Holding On", "Shout Bama Lama", and "99 And A Half Won't Do" just kind of skitter by. But "Midnight Blues", for instance, sound rushed instead of smoldering. This is a pity, since, apart from Nagy's improvisation on the vocal melodies on "Bad Girl", it's when they successfully slow down for such mid-tempo numbers as "The Hurt's All Gone" (by the lovely Irma Thomas) and especially "As Long As I Have You" (by the aforementioned Garnet Mimms) that the set finds its strongest, most breathtaking and transporting moments. (Sadly, no "He Did It" (by The Ronettes) or "Breakaway" (by Irma Thomas).) The set isn't particularly short (with a six-song encore, it lasts about 80 minutes), but its rushed quality makes it feel short. What I saw were glimpses of just how blistering The Detroit Cobras can be on stage. I hope to see more of that the next time (something I'm looking forward to) so that I can walk out with an even greater feeling of warm glow.
Comments (10)