Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo
I was originally planning to head down to El Mocambo to eventually catch the Handsome Furs set, but I was turned away at the door fairly early in the night because they were only letting in ticket-bearing folks at that point. The rejection was fortuitous as I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to catch two great bands at Rancho Relaxo.
Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
I started the night off with Krupke. I had previously missed their set with the Lovely Killbots at Bread & Circus in November, something I now sorely regret.
Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
In terms of the material posted online, Krupke has quite the whimsical sound prominently featuring xylophone and piano work. The vocals in their online material sound a little disjointed at times, but this is amply compensated by the originality of their instrumentation.
Their live performance was far more impressive than their online material would suggest. You get a real sense of the jazz-inspired drums in the soft cymbal work which is contrasted nicely with the skilled guitar work solidly grounded in the rock realm. Unlike other bands that artificially add some eclectic instruments into their rock repertoire, the violin and clarinet instrumentation really adds something to the pieces, especially the latter. I was pleasantly surprised by the skilled musical layering and by the high-energy performance they threw out there on Friday night.
Krupke @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
Boats! @ Rancho Relaxo
I stayed put for the next band hailing from Winnipeg, Boats!
Boats! @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
Their online material suggests female-centric vocals and an interesting blend of electric sounds and tight guitar work. The live performance featured Matt Klachefsky’s vocals more prominently than I expected and although I generally prefer female vocal work, Klachefsky certainly delivered. The set was quite impressively energetic from the start, engrossing the audience instantly. My only regret is that I didn’t pick up an album at the end of the night.
Boats! @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
Boats! @ Rancho Relaxo - March 12, 2010
