Steel Train, Forgive Durden and Person L

Steel Train, Forgive Durden, and Person L @ the Marquis Theater, Wednesday November 12th

The single most disappointing thing to discover when arriving at a show is that the band you were most excited to see will not be performing. It seems that when ever this happens to me however I’m extremely fortunate in that the “default” bands tend to impress me. This doesn’t happen every time but when it does I feel very Lucky.

This was Just the case at Steel Train’s show Thursday @ The Maquis. I was hoping to catch Deer & The Headlights but unfortunately they were out sick. This however created a larger time slot for Pennsylvania band Person L. Person L’s sound is one of heart thumping drums, echoing vocals, and introspective lyrics. The voice was immediately familiar to my ears, a sort of earnest ache that seemed oddly familiar. It would take me the greater part of Person L’s set to realize that the familiar voice was The Starting Lines Kenny Vasoli. While very familiar in it’s style, Vosoli’s voice showed extreme dimension and growth since his pop-punk yelp in TSL days. I found the 5 piece rockers to be extremely comfortable with their fellow band mates, continually feeding off each others own erratic energy.

Person L played songs of their first full length LP Initial, released August 5th, 2008. The album was released through Vasoli’s own imprint Human Interest, and is rich in the DIY know-how and experimental attitude of the singer. Particularly impressing was “Storms,” the band’s first single,  which incorporates the depth of the five piece, two percussionists, thick and funk-inspired base lines, and Vasoli’s melodic and often high pitched voice emphatically exclaiming “oh i was getting high. Yeah, i was gettin’ real high, by myself, but i still felt this pain.” Sudden stops and anthemic clapping add to to the anticipatory mood the music creates. On “Goodness Gracious” the band displays their ’70′s inspired rock riffs with precision and concentration creating a sound that centers somewhere between the psychedelic past and the haunting future.

The evening continued with Seattle natives Forgive Durden. The Band is the brain child of lead singer and sole full-time member of the band. When the other three band mates decided to leave the band citing “personal reasons,” Thomas Dutton took full reigns and began moving forward with Forgive Durden, writing songs for his newest and most lyrically vivid album, “Razia’s Shadow: A Musical.” The Product is an intense, harmonious concept album that has a rich in the somewhat eerie underlying narrative. I was impressed with the seamless transitions and the staggering groovy feel of ”Life is Looking up.” The concept is unique and thoroughly convincing, musicians become actors and their storyline is conveyed though continually changing tempo’s and structure.

New York jam-band no more, Steel Train closed the show. While I found the new line-up lacking, I did appreciate the warm jazz guitar’s and conscientious lyrics of the band’s semi-new sound. Unfortunately heavy chorus and pop chords seemed to weigh down the band usual rockability. I found their just over an hour set to be somewhat stock and mildly interesting. Musicianship and skill were not lacking, every band member seemed to know exactly how to jam, however for some reason that element of Steel Train was not in attendance.  While their talent was convincing, originality was not as believable.

The tour continues on through the winter.  RMMB will keep you posted on future tour dates.