If I've learned one thing in my old age, it's that if Molly Flynn tells you to go see a band (and it's not Marah), you should probably get off your ass and go see them. In this instance, the band was Raleigh, NC's own The Static Minds, so when I heard that the woman herself would be in Annapolis to see them, I hopped a freight down to my sister and bro-in-law's place and got my freeload on.We picked up some more kids, grabbed some Thai food and set to rocking. The Whiskey is a little T.G.I Rockers for my taste, but the beer was cold and cheap, so there was little to argue about. The Royals set things off soon after our arrival. They were young, and evidently playing their first show that evening. They had a pretty good crowd and despite the fact that I felt a million years old watching them, they busted out some new school Nuggets-informed rock. They were a little rough, but better than a lot of bands with more history. The singer is a good looking kid with decent stage presence, and he can sing. He also played guitar on a couple tunes, mostly avoiding my disdain for singers that just sing. They don't seem to have a web presence, but if you're in the area, I'd keep an eye out.
Next up was The Static Minds, who set to tearing the place up in short order. The gents do rock, to say the least. Erik the singer does a damn good job of doing that, as well as knocking out solid rhythm guitar. While The Royals seemed a bit tentative, the older guys had no such reservations. They tore off tune after tune of post-Sonics garage-y rock and managed to get the hot ladies dancing. The band is tight as hell, and Andy Kerr is a man not to be trifled with when he's got a Les Paul strapped on. The frosting on the beater: a bad-ass bassist named Lucius Cyrus. If he didn't seem to able to tear my arms off for doing so, I would grow a moustache and assume his identity stat. I got a copy of three of their songs after the set, so look forward to a review in the next couple of days, but don't postpone joy. Here's a link to the web presence. Bookmark that shit, as these gents rock. Hard.
After four beers and a band that good in the second slot, I was pretty stoked to see the last two bands. Mod Fun came out a bit po-faced after The Static Minds, and they should have, as the room was soundly rocked. Mod Fun are from Jersey, and evidently had a pretty good run of it back in the late 80s, but they didn't really catch fire this night. Everything was pretty mid-tempo and without much in the way of hooks and even a late-set cover of The Letter didn't save things. They closed the set with a half-hearted Townsend-ian stage smashing that just came off a little desperate after the rock we had just heard. Goes to show that old doesn't necessarily mean good, plus if you're going to take off from 1987 to 2004, you might be a little bit disingenous about your 'history' as a band. Better luck next time.
The Names closed the night, but we had to bail before they actually played. They are young (all 19, according to Molly) but allegedly rock. I'll put them on the list and try to catch them if they make it up North. Here's hoping, but The Static Minds really are all you need for a quality evening of rocking and beer drinking. Check them out stat. Here's a link.
R
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