Rock N Roll Experience - The Hourly Radio / Shiny Toy Guns - 6/22/07

THE HOURLY RADIO / SHINY TOY GUNS

June 22, 2007

Sonar

Baltimore, Maryland

It's interesting really, that The Hourly Radio would be on a bill with a band like Shiny Toy Guns, because to compair the 2 bands for a minute, The Hourly Radio are a moody, eclectic, at times artsy, musical vision of sound &elements that create an almost background-ish style of music that really enhances whatever it is that's going on in your life, whereas Shiny Toy Guns are more of a pop band with heavy electronic & dance roots & this really kinda divided the crowd a bit I felt. The Hourly Radio opened the show at 9 PM & they played a little under an hour & their set was dark, deep, & not really what I would consider dance-oriented in that the band reminds me of a mix of the darker side of The Police & the weirder sides of Radiohead...The Hourly Radio are simply brilliant at what they do & they really keep you entertained, both visually & musically! I had a chance to check out their guitar rig & these guys have ALOT of guitar pedals & it's really what makes their rich sound & texture!

What made me actually wanna see The Hourly Radio, & what made me a fan of their music was, I saw the band by accident last year when they played a free show in Baltimore, & I remember just being blown away by this unknown band from Texas, & I remember distinctly thinking to myself...if these guys ever come back through town again, I MUST cover their show! The band didn't dissapoint me at all, they played a short but tight set & in all honesty, when their set was done, I could have left the show & felt complete, because they fulfilled my need for music that night!

There was another band on the bill that played inbetween The Hourly Radio & Shiny Toy Guns, but to be honest with you, I didn't really play alot of attention to them because they didn't grab me, musically, & after seeing The Hourly Radio, is was definitley hard to top what I'd just experienced!

So, the stage was cleared now, the venue was filled in nicely & the maind attraction, Shiny Toy Guns, were about to take the stage, & this was actually my first time seeing the band live, so I had no clue what to expect. As the smoke billowed from everywhere onstage, the band came out under a cover of fog & lights & the obvious thing about this band is that their drummer rocks like a madman! I have to note that the band switches instruments occassionally, & their female singer plays bass on some songs & keyboards on others, while their keyboard player switches from bass to keyboards often too, & the band takes turns doing lead vocal duties. Musically, the band was dance-pop oriented & the crowd was really into their set. The interesting moment in their set was when someone yelled "Free Bird" & the bands guitarist went into the opening verses of "If I Leave Here Tomorrow..." & & then promptly said, "I've got to stop there because we have curfew restrictions!" & I thought that was funny, but I don't know how many of the younger fans in that room got that joke since the average age range was under 21 this particular night.

The Shiny Toy Guns played a strong set that was a little over an hour & they definitley brought the crowd to their knees & I have to also note that they had an alien spacecraft like strobe light in the middle of the venue that really reminded me of a rave at times..if you were at a distance & could see it shimmer over the crowd, you understand how cool it looked! When the show was over, if you've never been to Sonar before, I must explain that there's an event called "Taxlo" & this is basically an indie-dance party, so a large portion of the crowd went to the dance club to continue the night. I have to end this review with my personal opinion, which is that The Hourly Radio were superb, these guys deserve your attention & if you've never heard them before, check them out..they are amazing writers & performers!

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