Whigs, Iron & Wine offer a welcome diversion

What a week. Not that are necessarily enough people who read this to have noticed, but I haven’t been posting much lately because my business moved into new offices six weeks ago and it has taken a lot to get them up and running. Then, a week ago, we moved back out because the flooding Iowa River was swiftly rising around us. We spent a day completely disassembling and moving our office, then started sandbagging (the photo was taken Saturday. We’re about halfway in). Now, everyone is working from home until we can get back in, which will be weeks away.

So, it was a welcome diversion to go see a rock show on Sunday night. The Whigs opened for Rose Hill Drive and were absolutely awesome. The bands are apparently co-headlining the tour, and unfortunately it was the Whigs’ turn to open in Iowa City. That meant a short set (but at least it was early so this flood-weary concertgoer could hit the sack early). The band played 8-10 songs (I lost count), focusing mainly, and wisely, on their sophomore outing, the killer Mission Control. All nuance brought to the songs on record was scrapped in favor of volume and energy. This was the loudest show I’ve seen in a long time. That would be my only complaint, and perhaps it’s a sign that I’m getting too old. Still, the performance was so engaging and so powerful that it didn’t matter. “Like a Vibration,” “Right Hand on My Heart” and “Production City” (which really ought to be a single) were fantastic.

Rose Hill Drive was another matter. Having heard the band’s forthcoming sophomore disc, I was surprised these two were touring together. Hearing them live drove that point home. Rose Hill Drive is a metal band, with wailing solos and a singer fond of the upper range vocal trill (that’s hard to describe; pretend you’re a metal singer waiting at the top of your range. That’s what they sounded like). I was glad for the band order then, happy not to have had to sit through their set to get to the Whigs. They weren’t bad, just not at all what I wanted to hear at that point.

Meanwhile, the flood waters closed nearly every road into and out of town, and Wye Oak didn’t get good directions. The band was scheduled to headline a show across town, but when I arrived to see them, I was informed they hadn’t made it. That’s too bad, because the band’s debut disc, If Children, had me intrigued to see the live show. I interviewed Andy and Jenn for CorridorBuzz.com, and they seemed like great people who would put on an energetic show. I hope they reschedule.

I did get to see a great show just before the flood waters hit, taking in Iron & Wine at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City. I reviewed that for CorridorBuzz.com. An excerpt: “(Sam Beam’s) songs maintain a delicate balance. At their core, nearly all could be carried adequately, if not splendidly, by little more than his guitar and voice. Thankfully, despite the cost of bringing such a large ensemble on the road, he chose to eschew the solo route for what was a fully formed, fleshed out manifestation of his music. Each song is so well crafted that it can support a band of eight playing a couple of dozen instruments, all without ever getting in one another’s way or ever allowing for a moment when each instrument could not be heard distinctly in the mix.”