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Cinnamon Toast Party, 23 Dec 93
Just came in from the Cinnamon Toast Christmas party, which was
complete with free egg nog and cinnamon toast, of all things!
Three bands played: Quahogs, Sloan, and Plum Tree.
QUAHOGS:
They did an Unplugged thing which wasn't all that exciting,
because I frankly don't get into it when they're Plugged.
They did plug in at the end of their set and did a couple
of songs, one of which was a little homage to Jimi Hendrix.
SLOAN:
Played a lot of new songs, which I thought were really great.
The band didn't seem to think so, but I think the next album
will really reflect all they've learned on tour - it's
going to be stronger, more varied and (dare I say) more
mature than _Smeared_. Looking forward to it, as long as
they 'let love rule'...you know, they've 'got to believe, yeah'.
Overall, their set was tame in terms of activity on stage, at
least compared to their Merry Kissmas set.
PLUM TREE:
This was my third time seeing them, and they are still really
tight. Their singing vocals aren't that strong, but it's
developing into a stylistic thing. I guess I should mention
that Plum Tree are four young high school women who have a
sound remarkably similar bytimes to Shadowy Men on a Shadowy
Planet. They also like to speak/shout the lyrics over the
music, and this proves to be effective on some songs. I
found myself wondering when their split single with
Strawberry (from Prince Edward Island) was coming out. The
band answered my question by mentioning that their single
would be out late Jan/early Feb. And as they said, you should
pick it up - they're both great bands. One of Plum Tree's two
lead guitarists is very proficient with picking and progressions,
and it's almost funny at times. The bridge in the middle of
"Dog Gone Crazy" sounded to me like some kind of Yes song or
guitar god anthem, a little incongruous with the song itself.
Opinions on this from Mike or James are welcome.
They're still pretty nervous on stage: rarely looking
at the audience, little to no movement - although the
guitarist who has been in the middle the times I've seen them
seems to get into a little more, and cracks a smile or laughs
when she makes a mistake. The other members are more or less
stone-faced while on stage.
So there are some quick takes from the party tonight, sorry you
couldn't all be there. :)
Scott
P.S. The cinnamon toast was really good. Colin made it.