Pedro the Lion, Reflector, Appleseed Cast, Koan
the Bottleneck
June 29, 1999

Review by Mark Cuthbertson

Cincinnati's Koan, Lawrence's Appleseed Cast, and Kansas City's Reflector opened for Seattle's Pedro the Lion at the Bottleneck on Thursday, June 29, 1999. Usually, shows at the Bottleneck feature bands which are reasonably alike; however, the first three groups of high-energy rockers gave way to a very anticlimactic Pedro the Lion at the end of the night.

Koan is best described as poppy emo. Guitarists/vocalists Steve Barton and Eric Eversole traded off potent, strained melodies which often bordered on yelling or screaming and doubled up on the refrains. The vocals were supported by marginally distorted, scratchy, and trebly melodic octaves and/or chord progressions by the guitars over Corey Barhorst's nasal, growling bass and Jason McGlone's busy and dynamic timekeeping. I would compare their sound and style to early U2 with more variety, down-to-earth vocals, and several times the attitude.

The group showed a great deal of musical range from their opener, "Delusion," to their last selection, "Morale," which is featured on a compilation CD. The latter featured an a capella section sung by all of them, though I couldn't understand it all despite several repetitions. All of their songs built up considerable energy, and most of them were soft in the middle. Some of the songs used stop time or odd time signatures, and the vocals and guitars contrasted and complemented each other throughout the set. Fans of emo will almost certainly enjoy Koan, and someone relatively new to the sub-genre will probably walk away either liking them for their musicality and energy or disliking them for the vocals.

Koan is currently touring in support of their recent release on the Halo of Merchants label. Other releases include a seven-inch, a CD EP, and two songs on two different compilations. For more information on the band, look them up on the world wide web at http://welcome.to/koan/.

Appleseed Cast drew a much bigger crowd to the stage to catch a better earful of their sound, which also could be called emo. Like Koan, the recent Lawrence immigrants were dynamic, building great amounts of energy from slower, wide-open, spacy and moody beginning sections (somewhat reminiscent of Action Man). Vocals ranged from a strained whisper to nasal whines by Christopher Crisci to Aaron Pillar's flat-out yelling. Jason Wickersheim tastefully supported the catchy and rhythmically stimulating grooves together with fill-in drummer Dave Ott. Aaron and Christopher played off each other well with the guitars, too. Together, they mixed and carefully selected from a palette rich with thick, crunchy, warm fuzzies, clean, mellow jangles, controlled feedback, and hollow, echoing tones.

If Appleseed Cast has a limitation, it is matching the often-complex moods and textures of their music with vocals from the same side of the emotional spectrum. This was especially on their last number about Kansas. The guitars, bass, and drums synergized a vast, spread-out sonic landscape, making the screaming vocals sound out of place. Their stage presence is similar to that of Miles Davis's combos -- often gathering in a circle, sometimes facing away from the crowd and staying in their own far-off world for much of the show.

With a new drummer in the lineup, Appleseed Cast looks forward to making more music, expanding their horizons, and enjoying the Lawrence scene.

Reflector brought a hyperactive energy and more decadent sound to the Bottleneck with their set. Also making good use of dynamics, Reflector augmented them and made their sound more memorable and readily distinguishable from the other bands with their drastic rhythmic and key changes. This was most noticeable on "Blue Skies," a tune featured on their new seven-inch release. So many songs can be predictable these days, but I suspect Reflector will never write one that doesn't have some sort of surprise in it. Somehow, they managed to pull off these nearly inconceivable and drastic changes without effort or loss of tightness.

If any one thing makes Reflector fit the emo mold, it is the "play every note as though it's his last" ethic evident in each of the members. All three of them were constantly in motion, visibly into their music, and loved what they were doing. Few bands working as often as Reflector maintain such an intense passion and hunger for live performance. Jared's vocals ranged from scratchy screams to whispers to sustained cries as he convulsed to the music and put most of his bodily motion into his guitar playing. Sometimes, it even appeared as though he was coming up to the surface from a deep sea dive for air as he approached the microphone. Their drummer, Jake, broke his snare head on the first song and wore a psychotic grin throughout the night as he pounded the skins with a smooth, exaggerated, and vigorous motion.

As much as I enjoyed this group every time I've seen them, the unpredictable changes may be a bit much for some people, and each show has had a memorable amount of stray, ear-piercing, uncontrolled feedback, too. Their stage presence has improved, too -- on this night, theirs was at least as good as any of the other bands'. For those into edgy math rock and thirst for something different, Reflector is a must-hear.

When Pedro the Lion took the stage, I was still full of adrenaline from a triple dose of edgy emo rock. By the time they were done, I was nearly in a hypnotic, lullaby sort of trance. Touring in support of their new EP., "the Only Reason I Feel Secure," the shoe-gazing Seattle trio played ten slow, jangly, moody songs ranging in flavor from slow, plodding sleepers to light pop to alterna-country Tex-Mex ballads. One of their songs reminded me of a slower, lighter version of Tom Petty's "Mary Jane's Last Dance," another started off as a country-ish ballad and built up to the climax of their set with David Bazan playing a fast, flamenco-like melody with octaves.

Two other selections inspired me to note "catchy riff" and "mildly catchy riff." The rest blended into one melancholy, chicken soup-like simmer to me, which may have been more pleasing on a stereo during a massage or after a hard day at work. I wasn't particularly into them, but a considerable portion of the crowd stuck around to hear them on a weeknight. Bazan's voice is a soothing baritone, a sharp contrast to all of the other bands of the evening. Anyone who disliked the others for the rougher, edgier vocals may have enjoyed Pedro the Lion for that reason alone. However, I think a broader range of tempos and tones, or maybe just a more favorable booking, may have doubled my appreciation for their music.

--Mark Cuthbertson