The Ottobar, as supportive as it is to local music, can be a tough place for an all-local bill. It books enough national acts to fill the place up on a regular basis that on nights when there are no name-brand headliner, it can feel of like an off-night, which isn't so much an issue for the smaller clubs that book nothing but no-names and locals. So when we show up to see a few area bands, we're not sure if there'll be tumbleweeds passing the front of the stage, like there were
. Thankfully, though, there was a bit more of a buzz on Tuesday night, with the bands Son of Avery, the Same Damn Thing, and La For Another pulling in a decent number of fans and friends for a weeknight show.
Timonium's oddly named
is a spirited all-girl quartet who were running through some jangly upbeat numbers when we arrived. Its sound and look is a bit more like a modern preppy version of the Go-Gos than, say, Bikini Kill. But even today there's still something inherently DIY and, dare we day, punk about any group of women who form a band without even getting a male ringer on drums or lead guitar, as is the case with most such bands.
The next band, the
, was a mixed gender act with a frontwoman and three scruffy dudes backing her on guitar, bass, and drums. The band's slight cabaret vibe brought to mind local faves
, and that dramatic element came almost singlehandedly from the singer, who calls herself Madame Scarlet and wore a long flowing dress and unashamedly vamped and hammed it up over the band's bluesy midtempo songs. Her performance was chock full of body language and physical flourishes, punctuating virtually every lyric with a movement of her eyes, hands, or hips. Unfortunately, all of that moving around detracted from her vocal performance, which was already either too low in the mix or she just wasn't projecting enough. But the band's creative arrangements--which included several short songs with abrupt, unpredictable endings and some stuttering, off-kilter rhythms--were never entirely overshadowed by the charismatic vocalist. If the Same Damn Thing keeps playing and tightening up its live show, it could really become something interesting.
The last band of the night, Son Of Avery, categorize itself as "Alternative / Hawaiian / Afro-beat" on its
, but actually sound like pretty standard alt-rock. Does that joke ever get old? Oh right, it did, two years ago. But the five-piece occasionally hits upon a surprising sound, usually one of the dread-locked guitarist's trebly leads. Unfortunately, the singer also hit some high notes that didn't come across as well. And as he profusely thanked those of us who stayed out late for its set, we realized that we weren't enjoying being up after midnight to listen to his shrill vocals, and at times Son Of Avery sounded as tired as we felt.
