Show Review: Terry Malts/Wax Idols @ 29th St Ballroom (10/24)

This last Monday was a busy night at ATH, but personally, the highlight of my day was always going to be the viewing of Terry Malts and Wax Idols. Here are a few words on the show, and some excellent pictures too!

Austin’s Hidden Ritual opened up the evening, and while I think they were struggling with a bit of vocal issues, I could still feel that there was plenty to look forward to from the band in the future.  Their formula was very simple, yet the inherent melodies burst through the sound at 29th Street Ballroom, leaving me excited to see where this little known band will go in upcoming months.

But, finally I was able to catch a glimpse of Terry Malts, the band that was spawned out of the hiatus of Magic Bullets. Recorded, there’s bits of punk coated in reverb, allowing melody to creep through the musical cracks, but in the live setting, they were a completely different animal.  Lead singer Phil towered over the microphone and the band banged out their tracks in a furious fashion, pushing their sound to the limit.  They played tracks from their recent 7 inches, including “Something About You,” and several others that will come out on their debut–slated to hit next year on Slumberland Records.

Wax Idols closed out the evening for us (sorry Rayon Beach), playing a great deal of their tracks from their recent Hozac Records release, No Future.  For me, the album is pretty incredible, using the formula perfect by the Donnas long ago, but giving it a bit more balls, if you can use that phrase when talking about a predominantly female fronted band.  It’s unfortunate that there weren’t enough people in attendance, as you got the feeling that the band would bring a lot more ferocity to a packed house.  You’ve definitely got to give these girls (and guy) a nice nod, as they write tracks that aren’t afraid to offend, while still holding tight to accessible methods of sound.

All in all, we enjoyed ourselves a great deal, and we wish all the bands great luck on the road.  You can grab more photos here.