There was country music in the Yacht Club last night, and it was glorious. Most of us know the Yacht Club as a funky basement with a heady smell, home to blistering jams and dance parties. However, last night’s show was full of twang from beginning to end.
Dubuque’s Kerosene Circuit opened with their gritty roots rock, full of reverb and pain. Chamberlin followed, bringing their own Vermont-flavored sounds of Americana. The New Bodies brought the local back, traveling from Des Moines to play their rootsy garage rock.
However, it was San Francisco’s Or, the Whale that blew me away. Me, and about a dozen other lucky folks, as few ventured down those stairs last night. Or, the Whale plays tightly woven, classic-sounding country rock. They feature close, four part harmonies, great guitar and piano melodies, and driving rhythm. But, the keening wail of a pedal steel is what makes their sound so precious and powerful.
Tim Marcus plays the pedal steel with both precision and abandon, at times simply embellishing the vocal harmonizing of Lindsey, Alex, and Julie Ann, while at other times he takes the lead like a psychedelic banshee, like on their opener, “Call and Response”. Or, the Whale is a high energy band, as Alex and Lindsey can’t stop moving: shaking tambourines, shimmying, strumming, and stomping their way through their songs.
For those who expect their twang to be rough, tough, and dirty–like the Drive-By Truckers, for example–Or, the Whale would be a surprise. Their sound is warm and inviting, like an heirloom quilt. Their voices blend so well, and their songs are so polished, that they create a huge, many-layered sound that overpowers the listeners’ senses while wrapping them in comfort. They sound like dusty sunbeams shining through barn boards on “Rusty Gold”, or like a gold rush saloon in “Datura”. They sound like Fleetwood Mac playing Neil Young: lush, velvety, twang.
“We play country, or alt country, or whatever you want to call it,” said Marcus. “But we’re not anywhere near what you’d call the mainstream.”
There might not have been many people in the basement last night, but the Mission Creek festival treated the few to an unparallelled alt-country showcase.
Tim, stop making me feel bad about the show's I've missed, please.