It was the first day under new management over at The Comet Tavern this past weekend, officially labeled as their Grand Re-opening Party. 5 bands, one evening, for 0 cashola, can’t beat that. But I didn’t really come to see those 4 other bands or even to celebrate the whole new management deal. The Limbs were billed to open, and that was incentive enough to get my hung over booty to the show.
The Limbs are one of those bands that are few and far in between in this city. Their sound is raw, and at times, reminiscent of late 1970’s Manchester bands. The 3 piece kicked off their 9 song set with drummer Mike Peter announcing “We’re The Limbs, and we’re here to play some spaz rock”, a term they often use to describe their music. Which is in fact the best way to describe these guys, considering that spastic refers to someone who is awkward/eccentric. Matt Hanrahan, lead vocalist and guitarist, sings in a way I can only describe as a prepubescent school yard bully yelling at the kid with the stuttering problem to speak up! His screechy and shaky voice, which kind of sounds like a cross between Frank Black and Jack White, often breaks, counteracting with the solid musical foundation of The Limbs songs, and it works well together. A definite driving force within the band’s songs can be credited to the bass stylings of Tyler Jensen.
Their 4th song in, entitled “Five-Four”, which is on the bands 4 song demo, is by far one of their most pop-friendly songs, with bass nicely complimenting a catchy, melodic progression on guitar. The song ends on a fierce, lengthy drum roll by Mike Peter, putting the boo in booyah! “Fascinating Recreation” also off their demo, is a bit more lazy and sweeter than the rest of The Limbs songs, a refreshing little change up, and testament that this band can cover lots of different ground. “all day long (the doggie gone)”, their final song of the night, has Matt Hanrahan and Tyler Jensen both doing call-and-response type vocals along to a bouncy rhythm section that just plain rocks.
The Limbs demo, “Former Energy Giant”, can be purchased at their shows. Spaz-tastic!
