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As I got out of my car, which was parked in front of some hoochies whoring themselves up for a probable night of free drinks and possible STDs, I heard music trickling out of Jerkys. I picked up my step in fear that I was missing Sharks Come Cruisin.' As I made my way up the stairs to the club, I realized that it was other local act, Senior Discount.
I hadn't heard these guys before, so I listened to them with fresh ears. What I heard was a very tight, somewhat talented but incredibly immature band. Their vocalist's lyrics would make a 7th grade boy sound intelligent, and his vocal phrasing sounded simple and inexperienced; a vocal quick fix to finish the song. They were kind of funny, even though they didn't need to talk after each song. Their drummer was the most entertaining of the bunch, as he played like a robot due to his super tall hi hat.
Sharks Come Cruisin' didn't get off to the best start, not getting a reaction at all from the crowd (there were little to none of the sailors that usually attend their performances at Jake's) after announcing that they played traditional New England folk songs to a silent crowd and then Mark Lambert having guitar issues during their first song. They redeemed themselves and went on to prove why they are one of, if not the, best bands in Rhode Island. Though they were missing half their band, they still rocked it pretty hard, and won over a crowd that knew nothing about them, a crowd that even begged for an encore when the band asked if they had time for one more song. They played a pretty tight set, including such favorites as ... The funniest yet saddest part of their set came as they revealed the cue cards to Spanish Ladies. A group of kids standing next to me were amazed that their hometown of New Bedford was written up there. I explained to them that they play traditional sea songs, but they still didn't seem to understand, or they were too stupid to know that New Bedford used to be a big whaling town long ago. I'm hoping the former but lean to the latter.
The crowd seemed to nearly disintigrate after Sharks Come Cruisin' exited the stage, leaving a small but dedicated fanbase waiting eagerly for Lemuria to play. They played with heart and they played with urgancy, even if their Fugazi-ish/older Hot Water Music style of songs didn't quite fit in with the other three bands. The crowd sang along at every moment, adding to the all singing three piece with the microphones. I fell in love with their singer's voice and their drummer's talent. Lemuria was pretty unreal, and it seemed like they were playing basement instead of a club.
Being as blown away by Lemuria as I was, I wanted to pick up their newest album. That went off without a hitch, and their merch guy was nice enough to tell me that I had a huge beetle resting on my shoulder, which I properly disposed of outside.
People seemed to come back for The Loved Ones, which made sense. They too put on a hell of a show, putting a lot of energy into each song. This was the first time I'd seen them in almost two years, and the first as a four and a half piece (Dave Hause's sister was playing keyboard with them on this tour). I liked the extra force that the second guitarist added, and I really enjoyed what the keyboards added to the mix, something I think they should look into in the progression of their band.
They played all their hits, which made me very happy. They closed with a wonderful and stunningly powerful version of "Louisiana" before being forced back onstage for an encore, which wasn't as strong but was still fun.