Never before have I seen a typewriter used in a concert setting. Never before have I seen a singer spit so much. Never before have I felt so bad for such a talented band. I drove up to Baltimore to finally see Dredg for the first time. I've been waiting a few years for them to come out to the East Coast to play a show, and I guess now I know why they don't come out this way very often. Ram's Head Live! has 3 levels for viewing. Last night the bottom floor was barely filled. I know Dredg isn't the most popular band, but for a group that's signed to a major label, someone in Marketing is either screwing up or just not putting in the effort to promote these guys. It seems to me Dredg is geared toward a small sect of hardcore fans, but they're kind of artsy. They've got a real spacey sound - lots of delay. The problem is, in order to achieve this spacey ambiance, a lot of their songs are on the lighter side, which for a lot of people doesn't always make for a great live performance.

I thought the band was solid. The vocalist, Gavin Hayes, was excellent even though he was battling the flu. I don't think the guy missed a note. He's got a phenomenal voice. My sources (Beach) tell me his parents were opera singers or something of the sort. Next to his lap steel guitar which he would use throughout the set sat a typewriter. And whenever the moment struck him right, he'd type a little something, ball up the piece of paper and throw it into the crowd. Having never seen Dredg before, I don't know if this is his usual shtick or whatever, but I thought that was a pretty interesting way of interacting with the fans. That was cool though-leaving them with a little keepsake.

The band came out strong and played for about an hour. The set included Ode to the Sun (my personal fave), Of the Room (also excellent), Jamais Vu, Sang Real, and a performance of Bug Eyes which gave me chills. They also stuck in some songs that will be on their new album coming out in March in addition to some older songs I must reluctantly admit I didn't know. Toward the end of the set, they brought out the guys from the opening band, Judgment Day, to play violin and cello for a handful of songs. They closed with The Canyon Behind Her, and as the band rocked out the ending, the tech guys came and removed bits and pieces of the drum kit as Dino, the drummer, kept playing. Once all the pieces had been taken away, he moved over to the piano which he proceeded to play with the body of a guitar, eventually leaving the stage in a whirlwind of sound. Pretty cool way to end a show. Unfortunately once the techs remove an entire drum set, an encore is pretty doubtful.

I encourage you guys to check out Dredg. They've got a few songs up on their Purevolume and MySpace pages. Like I said, they're extremely talented and they're a nice breath of fresh air, they just don't get the proper love.

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