Friday, April 16, 2010

Live Review: MiniBoone / Ava Luna / Ball of Flame Shoot Fire @ Cake Shop 4-6-10

MiniBoone @ Cake Shop

Cake Shop hosted a night featuring three of the L Magazine's Top 8 NYC Bands You Need to Hear. The night started off with the peculiarly interesting Ball of Flames Shoot Fire. It wasn't just their name that was so, but the music, too. They sounded like an experimental indie rock bands employing accordion, electronic samples, saxophone, and keys. The music had a slow sounding vibe but picked up at times. They reminded me of Sunset Rubdown, Man Man, and LIARS. The performance lacked a liveliness that I'm used to seeing with these type of bands. Someone told me they had a Pink Floyd vibe.

Next was Ava Luna, a 7-piece indie/soul group that had some danceable beats and a doo-wop sound. The three “back-up” singers were actually not quite back-up as they took the lead often sand and with singer Carlos, sometimes overshadowing him a bit. The 4 different vocal styles didn't quite work, though. The harmonies were nice, but it didn't sound put together and the music sounded very similar, very quickly. There's only bass, drums, and synth in this group, but the music doesn't flow the way it should. When there weren't so many vocals taking over the song, you can hear the great music, and it's even dance worthy but the sort of “post-punk” that they're going for could be better arranged.

These acts were followed up by MiniBoone. The clever, lively performers impressed yet again, despite the  odd sound emitting from the room. The sound seemed off for some reason. But the band was wild. They have a forceful and urgent sound with sweet melodies that come together in this very driven way. You can dance along and shake about to the music. The guitars switch back and fourth with keys added in to create that dance feel. It's a great formula. Performed live the musicians come alive. The band kicked it off with “Funny Money,” which is interesting because they closed with it when we saw them last at Trash Bar. They also played a Bruce Springsteen cover. MiniBoone bring an energy to their live set that more bands should adapt.

-By Starchild

Related Entries:

* CD Review: MiniBoone brings jammy indie-rock on Big Changes

* Live Review: MiniBoone, The Bamboo Kids, Naked Heroes + others @ Trash Bar 2-19-10

* Video: MiniBoone "Cool Kids Cut Out of the Heart Itself"

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