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Saturday, August 09, 2008

Well Done, Fort Reno


A little while back we speculated who would play the final Fort Reno show this Thursday, August 14th. Not surprisingly, people hoped it'd be the triumphant reunion of Fugazi. Others guessed it'd be Shudder To Think. Beauty Pill and The Evens were also mentioned as possible bands. Nope, wrong, guess again, and go fish. So, who's playing?

Title Tracks, The Jet Age, and Yell County. I was critical of the Fort Reno schedule when it first came out but they did a nice job with this final show. It may not have you jumping around, dancing on your toes like you have to go pee-pee but it's an intriguing triple bill.
Of the three bands playing, I'm least familiar with Yell County but I like the fast tempos and their punk rock attitude. Their songs have good hooks and lots of big, crunching layers of guitar. What's not to like?

In July I saw The Jet Age play in Austin, TX. I couldn't believe a nationally known band that had released two excellent albums wasn't given a slot on the Fort Reno schedule. Their live show is pure power rock and is a nice fit with Yell Country.

This first Title Tracks show was well thought out. Last week it was announced Georgie James had broken up and John Davis had already formed this new band. Putting on a show right away takes advantage of the recent publicity - the buzz as people in the biz like to say. Let's not kid ourselves, John Davis is no dummy, and he's no slouch as a musician. Listen to the songs Title Tracks have posted already and it's hard not to want to see them live.

So the fact a big name band isn't playing might be a disappointment to some, but not me. Seeing The Evens, who I love, play Fort Reno isn't such a big deal. I was never a Shudder To Think fan and wasn't deluded enough to think Fugazi would play. Putting two local bands that deserve the recognition and a new band people are curious about is a fitting end to another season at Fort Reno.

UPDATE:

I wasn't sure what order the bands would play but it appears Title Tracks goes on first and then Yell County. The Jet Age gets the call as the final band of the 2008 Fort Reno season.

2 comments:

Steve said...

Definitely an excellent lineup. Just wish the Hold Steady weren't at the 9:30 Club that night... ugh.

Anonymous said...

no more georgie james? that sucks. it sucks so much, in fact, that i can't think of anything clever to say.