[ Music Index | Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]

Photograph by Brian Smith Chain Gang The Deadsy Zone Deadsy's engaging set was short and to-the-point By Sarah Quelland HAVING FALLEN IN LOVE with its Elementree/DreamWorks debut Commencement, it was the promise of seeing Deadsy that inspired me to make the drive to San Francisco. Seeing dredg was an added bonus. Last Thursday (Sept. 12), both bands played Slim's with Taproot. The line to get into the club snaked clear to the end of the block as fans--many of whom were buzzing with excitement over seeing dredg--anxiously waited to get inside. Before dredg even hit the stage, Slim's had reached maximum capacity and was turning disappointed latecomers away. Concentrating on new material from its forthcoming Interscope Records release, El Cielo (slated to hit stores Oct. 8), dredg gave a powerful and uplifting performance. Fans who missed the Slim's show will have ample opportunity to catch the band in October. dredg has a slew of regional gigs lined up, including Oct. 10 at the Pound in San Francisco; Oct. 13-14 at Rasputin Records in Campbell; Oct. 18 at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz; and additional dates in Chico, Sacramento, Vacaville and Petaluma. Visit www.dredg.com for updates. With a Gothic-meets-New Wave sound the band describes as "undercore," Deadsy entered a dark, foggy stage to kick off its set with a forceful Star Wars intro, before boldly launching into "The Key to Gramercy Park," the first single from Commencement. In an unexpected turn of events, Deadsy frontman P. Exeter Blue I (a.k.a. Elijah Blue, son of Cher and Gregg Allman) played with his eyes cast downward, looking at his mic, his guitar or the floor. He paused only occasionally to toss his tousled blonde hair out his face. Whether shy or merely nonchalant about performing, Blue rarely let the audience into his sphere and addressed them only briefly to say "What the fuck is up, Frisco?" The enigmatic vocalist and guitarist left the bulk of the entertaining to his theatrical band mates. Visually stimulating, the costumed band features Creature, whose gruesome, bloodied appearance was evocative of Frankenstein's monster, playing bass; Dr. Nner, who bounced like a puppet on elastic strings over his cartoonish keyboards; Carlton Megalodon, who bristled with intensity while playing his unusual synth-guitar; and drummer Alec Püre, who was all but obscured on the sidelines behind his drum set. Still, while Blue appeared introverted onstage, his strong, distorted vocals projected his poetic lyrics into the audience. One of Deadsy's strongest songs is "Winners" ("Let's take the longest way through the hallways of your mind/ Upon your knees, the phantom breeze of a shipwreck lost in time"), a song Blue has claimed in past interviews as one of his proudest songwriting achievements. And despite all Deadsy's colorful accouterments and esoteric prep-school associations, it's Blue's intriguing lyrics and his fascination with Urantia that make Deadsy stand out from its rock & roll peers. It's a shame they couldn't have gotten to "Mansion World" or "She Likes Big Words." "Lake Waramaug," "Flowing Glower," "The Elements" and "Le Cirque En Rose (Obsolescence)" rounded out Deadsy's short set, alternately sending shudders of bass and shivers of electricity though the crowd. HOT TOPIC: The First Annual SoFA Revival tears up spy this Sunday (Sept. 22) with a monster lineup of locals including Point 3, Karate High School, Ones and Zeros, Alien Love Syndrome, Reaction 31, Sift, SECURITY, Lavabone, Krenshaw, Hippie Aggression and Mind-Eye. Tickets are $8 and doors open at 2pm ... Parking Lot Prophets and Sloe perform at the new Positive Skate Experience, a pro-skateboarding event with skate demos and youth clinics that debuts this Saturday (Sept. 21, noon-5pm) at South Third and San Carlos streets. Visit www.populuspresents.com for more info. PLAN AHEAD: Fighting Jacks, Sept. 19 at the Gaslighter Theater in Campbell; Duncan Sheik, Sept. 20 at Agenda; the Odd Numbers present A Tribute to the Clash and the Jam, Sept. 21 at Plant 51; Kinky and Divit, Sept. 22 at Plant 51; Drunken Star Fighter and the Restitution, Sept. 23 at Kleidon's Lounge; Send a letter to the editor about this story to letters@metronews.com. [ Silicon Valley | Metroactive Home | Archives ]