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The Bloody Basin

Seeing the debut of "The Bloody Basin" (aka, a joint project with [Daryl] and Black Tie Dynasty) at Sons of Hermann Hall on Friday was a trip.

Starting off with an opening act consisting mostly of '90s cover tunes transposed to piano ("Big Empty" by Stone Temple Pilots, "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead, about three Pearl Jam songs, including "Black") was an amusing sight. I felt nostalgic hearing songs from younger days as lounge music fodder but it was a funny experience though.

Black Tie Dynasty was up next and they did not disappoint. Yes, they have the dark look and sound ala Interpol and Echo and the Bunnymen, but these guys aren't mopey clones. Their songs are really punchy while being atmospheric at the same time. All four members had great stage presence, making the visual experience just as fun. Overall, I was very impressed.

[Daryl] slayed as usual: they even played a few new songs to boot. Once their proper set was over, here came "The Bloody Basin." All of the members of Black Tie Dynasty and [Daryl] came up on stage and played together (thus making the total number of ten people). The song, "The Bloody Basin," is a titantic barnburner. Hearing the song's main riff played by four guitars at once was a trip. The sound was huge: it sounded as big as My Bloody Valentine. By the end of the song, there were all sorts of people from the crowd up on the stage. This was a controlled riot.

You don't usually see these kinds of shows.

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