Zack Mexico, Jane Jane Pollack, Old Bricks (Kings, Raleigh, 5/26/12)

I've been running a little behind lately... what was this show, 3 weeks ago?  Personal life's been hectic; what can I say?  Built a sand castle.  Watched the sun come up on the ocean.  Worked to keep my autistic boy sane and happy (he is, and he is).  

Nevertheless, this was yet another great (free!) show sponsored by DiggUp Tapes and PBR, at Kings Barcade.  IMHO, local label DiggUp Tapes has great taste in music... an opinion only strengthened by Zack Mexico.  They opened, and were the band I came for, having heard good things.  They've recently released their Aberration of Celestial Kokomo CD (free! here, but they have some connection with DiggUp; maybe their next CD?).  

Being from the Outer Banks, their surfy base is not unexpected.  But with them, it's just that, a base... like a good soup has.  A jumping off point.  But this soup also includes dark vocals, an artsy/indie edge, and a certain eerieness.  The dual guitars sound as much like Archers or Jawbox as the Ventures.  Vocals are as pensive and deep as the Feelies (coming in September!).  There's a lot mixed in here, which is good because, frankly, surf music can be kind of boring (I love me some Man... or Astroman?, but if it wasn't for the "show" they put on, I don't know...).  

No danger of being bored by Zack Mexico.  They took many unexpected twists and turns, between songs and within them, and were electric on stage.  Meanwhile, up front, artist Brad Vuyovich (BroRad for short) sat up front, painting a skimboard which was raffled off at the end of the night.  The first picture features him at work.  

Zack Mexico...

Next came Jane Jane Pollack.  I had neard nothing of them, except they were a quirky bunch making quirky music holed up in rural Georgia.  Sounds sorta Elephant 6-ish... and they were.  Odd, off-kilter pop, with the appropriately odd mix of instrumentation. Don't really know how to categorize them, having only heard them once, and it being so different.  But I enjoyed it.  They had their art show going as well (someone "painting" weird, amoeboa-like moving shapes on an old school projector).  

  

Jane Jane Pollack...

Last was our own Old Bricks, who I hadn't seen in awhile.  Their rootsy, thudding, brand of indie has gotten more polished since then.  I always liked their heavy use of percussion, a trend of which I think they were kind of vanguards (now, everybody's doing it).  It especially works for what can otherwise be a somewhat quiet band. The contrast suits their dark, tremulous style.  Stuart Edwards vocals are reminiscent of folk troubadour Dave Dondero, and when they rock out more, it makes me miss Dave's little-known band from his (and my) Pensacola years, Flatwheelers (MAN they were good!  Old Bricks is good, too.  They've recently released a new CD, City Lights, available here.  It's on Grip Tapes (another great local label, cousins-once-removed to DiggUp?)

Old Bricks...

BroRad's (almost) finished board...