Show Review

I've seen a lot of shows, that may be true. And I rarely can truly say that a band has left me completely breathless, but Open Hand, once again, this Monday night, did that. "You And Me" came out in late 2004, but still is in my head all the time. I have come to a point where I completely and totally love that band, and it's obvious why: they kick ass.

Killradio opened with an act that insisted I pull out my ipod and start fiddling. I was beyond bored and could only say that, while they were loud and sounded like a punkier, worse Living End, they weren't doing anything for me at all.

Next were the eerie Idiot Pilot, who just put out a CD that features electronic beats, heavy guitars, spacey crooning, and screaming. No one seemed to be getting into their freak act, but I kind of dug it. It was interesting and while it was just two guys, one of them prancing around singing (quite well I might add) and the other playing guitar, running the samples, and occassionally shrieking into the mic, they weren't too bad. I guess there's not a whole lot you can do when a computer's playing all of your beats and what not, but they had a video monitor running featuring creepy crap like bugs and old horror movies, all in black and white. It was pretty cool, but if I want to see a freak-show I'll just go see Norma Jean. Go buy their CD though, you might be into it's rather unique sound: The Postal Service meets Refused. Kind of.

The Kinison played next, and I found myself inevitably hand clapping and toe tapping to the songs I have heard and seen 2 times before already. The band was good and performance wise was on, but their energy seemed a little tapped. The singer's desperate "I'm going to climb on the rafters and dangle above the crowd" has simply been overplayed, but I guess it was entertaining. Their new jams sounded a bit exciting, but nothing to start anticipating yet; mostly of the same nature as their latest sound entails.

Finally, as if it hadn't been long enough, Open Hand casually took the stage to about 50 kids and blew everyone's mind. Opening with a programmed loop (the intro of "Hard Night") that went on for a few minutes, the band blasted off into a distant rock galaxy. Non-stop jams emitted from the stunning guitarists, and once again Open Hand proved they are the gods of rock and roll. They played almost the entire "You And Me" CD, showcasing the brilliant, shimmering, sonic, huge sounds on the disc, delivering chills down my spine. This band's talent and style is so incredibly brilliant that I'm suprised this show wasn't sold out, and I just don't understand why people don't absolutely love this band.

Open Hand are, simply, one of the best live acts I have ever seen, and their stunning performance shows nothing but that they know exactly what they are doing when it comes to all of their instrumentation. Absolutely, entirely insane, and go see this band, damn it. They'll change your life.

review by Andrew Martin