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A great concert February 9 at the Rhythm Room! Here is a show review of The Appleseed Cast, Knesset and Dust Jacket!

February 11th, 2009 Posted by: Dust Devil

Kudos to the music fans of Phoenix, AZ. Finally, a good crowd for a great show, and on a rainy night of all things!

The Rhythm Room was the place to be Monday, February 9. What a great concert put on by three quality bands. I have not seen this venue this packed in a long time, it was great to see. I love this venue, one of my favorites in town. Good sound, plenty of room, drink prices are reasonable and always an eclectic roster of artists.

I strolled in from the rain in time to see local faves Dust Jacket. My first time seeing these guys and it was an enjoyable time. It was obvious these guys have been working hard, the playing was pretty tight. The music is really good, atmospheric pop. I was not a huge fan of the vocals or lyrical content, but the music is really good stuff. Keep it up guys.

Knesset is a duo, another local product. WOW! These guys strolled onstage and delivered a strong set of shoegaze-inspired indie-rock. The atmospheric presence was there with these guys as well, but the delivery was much more powerful. E. Fox does some pretty impressive work on guitar, bass and keyboards, synthesizing everything into a sonic attack that reminded me a bit of Juno, Ejector Seat Reservation era Swervedriver and Explosions in the Sky. Check out their myspace page that I provided the link for and listen to the available tunes. Two of them are on the limited edition Bitter Hearts demo. I actually felt bad only forking over two bucks for it, it is that good. Keep your eyes on this duo, they could and should become huge!

Already a good evening, this evening became a great one when The Appleseed Cast strode onstage. I saw these guys with a different bass player and drummer a few years ago at the Modified in downtown Phoenix. Kimber Lanning, as always, was way ahead of most people in regards to recognizing a great band and having them perform at the Modified, still my favorite venue in Phoenix.

The Appleseed Cast has endured a lot of line-up changes over the years, but two constants remain in singer/guitarist Christopher Crisci and guitarist Aaron Pillar. Bass player Nate Whitman and drummer John Momberg currently complete the band’s line-up. I hope this line-up stays together!

Years ago my friend Robert Lerma walked into my work, handed me a copy of Mare Vitalis, the second full-length album from The Appleseed Cast, told me to put the disc in and put track three on. Five seconds into Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets, a song these guys still play today and did on this evening, I was hooked.

This band has evolved from the unpolished emo of The End of the Ring Wars to the stellar, atmospheric attack they unleash today. I love guitars that shimmer, and that is precisely what you hear when these guys play.

I wish the soundman would have accentuated Chris’s vocals a bit more, but they still sounded as good as ever. He has a great voice, one that complements the wall of sound that the band creates. Aaron was a monster on guitar, but everything is done with such precise beauty that you forget just how loud the music is. Nathan’s bass play fit perfectly with the band, at the forefront when it needed to be, but generally doing what a good bass player does; propel the song along and keep things moving. I was impressed. Even more impressive was the percussion play of John. This guys plays a mean set of skins, very powerful.

The band played songs spanning their entire catalog and the new material from their latest release Sagarmatha sounded great! I picked up the disc after the show and it has pretty much stayed in my player since that evening. Even on the small stage of the Rhythm Room, the band was active and poured themselves into each song. The crowd was a knowledgable one and were really into the show, adding to the great vibe that was already prevalent in the venue. Nathan seemed especially appreciative of the crowd. As a fan that is always cool to see. I got to briefly speak with Nate and John after the show, cool guys and great additions to the band.

The three song encore was intense and got off to a furious start with a brutal rendering of Fishing the Sky from Mare Vitalis. I definitely was not expecting that track, and it was a joy to hear the audience singing along. Two songs later they closed with one of the many instrumentals this band plays. The Appleseed Cast is a band that can play a song without the vocals present and create an epic atmosphere. What a machine!

Great, great show, I am so happy I went. This will be in the Dust Devil’s Top Ten for the year, I can already see that coming. Kudos to Dust Jacket and Knesset for setting the table well, and big kudos to The Appleseed Cast for an utterly impressive show. Last, kudos to the Rhythm Room for another great evening of music.

I just love great live music. Cheers!
The Dust Devil

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