Show Review: Terry Malts @ the Mohawk (4/11)

During a busy week in town, musically speaking, Brian and I jumped at the chance to catch one of our favorite acts, Terry Malts, as they returned to town. We moved beyond our exhaustion, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, rocking out til the bar closed.

Read on for some quick thoughts on all the bands and check out Brian’s photos!

Rayon Beach opened up the evening, and the band just keeps on improving. It always strikes me how forcefully they come across in the live setting, considering the three piece has a fairly minimal set up (no bass included).  Their blend of punk and psych sounded really strong, and all those in attendance were bouncing around the inside room of the Mohawk.  Phil from Terry Malts definitely thinks highly of the band too–so there’s your celebrity endorsement.

Following the opener was One Hundred Flowers, a band who has gotten a lot of praise around town.  I can see why, with the group having a sound that will please almost any listener.  That being said, I think the group sounds a lot better on recording than they do live, at least on this particular evening. Maybe it was the set-up at Mohawk, but the mixture of vocals came across a tad to muddied for my liking, which kind of ruined their otherwise enjoyable music.

And we finally came to the closer, Terry Malts, hoping to hear as much from their recent release, Killing Time, as possible.  Right away they jumped into it; their business is rock n’ roll, and they definitely meant business on this particular night.  Phil tossed around his bass with abandon, moving his giant frame all over the stage.  Corey bounced up and down as the trio furiously played track after track after track.  For the most part, the band offered very little in the way of banter on stage, choosing to just play fast and loud–the way we like it over here at ATH.  I guess if you wanted to complain, you could say that they play so fast that they’re done in no time; yes, I wish they could have played for hours (but I’m selfish).  They gave us the hits song after song, but that’s the strength of the group, having written a basically flawless record.  My only let-down of the night was that more people didn’t show up to check these guys out, as they more than deserve it!

There are a few more pics at the photo site…