On June 29, 2009, I finally got to see Cymbals Eat Guitars play their sprawling indie rock live at Great Scott in Allston, MA. I was surprised to see that local band Magic Magic was headlining over them considering as how much buzz CEG have garnered. After taking advantage of all-you-can-eat wing night at Soul Fire and relaxing with a beer, I was ready to enjoy some good ol' indie rock and that's exactly what I got to do.
"…And the Hazy Sea" kicked off the night in appropriate manner. Seeing Cymbals Eat Guitars live certainly explains what the buzz is about with them. They are eager to impress and definitely do so – especially for such a young band. Frontman and guitarist Joseph D'Agostino's fuzzed out guitar solos on his Fender Jazzmaster pay respect to J. Mascis without copping too much from the past and the ambitious song structures give an admirable nod to Broken Social Scene. Every song translated beautifully to the stage and the audience was soaking every note of it in. They were especially receptive to the new songs sprinkled in which displayed that this band has a bright future ahead of them. The recently released b-side "Tunguska" was a treat live with its pleasant Pavement-like nature and favorites from their debut Why There Are Mountains such as "Indiana" and "Share" also served as highlights. Grab their debut album below and see what the buzz is about:
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Magic Magic ended the night on a pleasing note. Their laid back indie pop was surprisingly catchy with songs like "Sleepy Lion" and their performance demonstrated why they have been making quite a splash in the area. At times, they reminded me of Vampire Weekend and I could also hear a touch of The Shins peek through. I couldn't help but think that they could have utilized their talent a little more. The band employed two drummers but from the back of the venue you couldn't even tell. I believe if you are going to do the duel drumming thing then you should utilize more complex rhythms so it doesn't come off as strictly a gimmick. The band pulled off an excellent three-part harmony during one song and it also would have been great to hear more stuff like that. Regardless, they put on a good show and I will surely be catching them live again at some point.
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