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SLM, The Hue, Fatbook @ the Miramar Theatre – March 18, 2010
Words: Cal Roach
Milwaukee should be very grateful for the return of the Miramar Theatre as a live music venue; not only is it a great sounding little room, but they serve quality beers at a good price. The place brings in a wide variety of local and national talent, but it has become known primarily as a haven for jambands and metal. In a somewhat curious triple bill on March 18th, fans got a chance to experience both specialties, with mixed results.
[Photos of The Hue by Joel Berk]
The first act of the night was Fatbook, based in Appleton, WI, but drawing members from Minneapolis, Chicago and other Midwestern hubs. You’d expect such a far-flung collective to have little opportunity for rehearsal and thus lack cohesion, but these guys gave no such impression. The first few tunes were lackadaisical, with no real excitement from the three-piece horn section. Singer/guitarist Harjinder Bedi was giving off a lazy Jack Johnson-meets-Jamiroquai vibe, and nothing original was going on via lyric or music. But as the show progressed, the band unveiled some pretty terrific horn arrangements, jazzy but melding unscrupulously with Police-style Caucasian reggae. The motley band began to show remarkable synergy, whether crafting a murky moodscape or generating a kinetic dance groove. No long jams, short and purposeful, often integrating the horns really well into the improv.
Ultimately, Fatbook (Bedi in particular) needs to develop a more original sound, something to set it apart from the pack stylistically, but the pieces of the puzzle are all there. Above all, these guys have the togetherness to create that magical swell of intensity as well as hold together in the mellower stretches, and a horn section that can carry the whole band through its more generic moments. That’s worth your ten-dollar ticket price right there.
READ ON for more of Cal’s thoughts on this triple bill…
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