I met a friend last night at Silver Moon. We went to hear Necktie Killer. (Facebook page here.) Neither of us had high hopes of being able to hear Necktie Killer very well. We've both had disappointing experiences with the sound there. It's been a blurry mess. You could see the players playing but the sound was just a roar. Lyrics unintelligible.
Well. That wasn't the case last night. It was better. They have a sound man now (didn't the last time I went). We could tell because he wore a Silver Moon t-shirt with "sound man" printed on it, and he was paying attention and he dialed the sound in after a few songs.
It still wasn't great sound, the place is too reverberant for real clarity, but it was full, and loud and there was enough detail so a fellow could hear all the players. Well, except during horn solos -- the sound man didn't notice and raise their levels -- so they were buried in the mix.
Quibbles aside, the band is great. Seven pieces (guitar, sax, trombone, trumpet, bass, lead singer, drums), and tight. High energy, a lot of work on their arrangements, with crisp breaks and rhythm changes. And a big fat sound -- in the select spots where they played unison, it's as powerful a sound I've ever heard.
I can't comment on the lyrical content of their songs for two reasons: 1. I have "lyric deafness," meaning I don't pay much attention to the words of a song, and (b) The sound was too blurry to pick out the words anyway.
Like them a lot.
Thanks very much for the write up, Jack! We're very pleased that you enjoyed the show. In the sound guy's defense, we as a band made his job very difficult by being tardy for load in and not allowing him to facilitate a proper sound check. Hope to see you out at another show soon. Cheers!
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