ISSUE #70 / August 1, 2019

SuperKnova / all📷 : TLM

Bev Rage and the Drinks kicked off the night with that queer punk energy we all love them for. They blazed through songs like popping Pringles or discarding Grinder hookups. Bev also brought sardonic humor to her sets, and tonight she did some killer crowd work. Although, is it crowd work when you are just talking about one guy? And they are your friend, Nick? No matter, it was hilarious. The Drinks never disappoint, either. Sam Westerling had a luminous smile and delivered killer bass lines. Aaron Ehinger and Trevor Cole are multi-instrument wonders switching between the drums and guitar. Ehinger always finds new ways to cheese it up and bring another level of fun to the shows. The highlight of the set was when they ended with a new song "Permanent Receptionist." It had a new level of anger and fuzz. Driving and intense. Def makes me look forward to more new music from Bev.

Bev gave the perfect introduction for the next band of the night, Yomi, "They have a harp! A harp! I don't think I've ever seen a harp in person before!" But Yomi took her time getting to that harp. She started with a deep, slow bass line that rattled and thrummed. Her lovely jazz vocals were deep and round and had that perfect edge of vibrato. Then she turned to the harp and gave us something that truly was unusual for the Bottle stage. She plunks and strums and creates percussion and melody and harpist vibes. Yomi was open and communicative. There was an element of  improvisation within the structure to her playing. She has chosen two talented and responsive musicians to create music with. Nuanced jazz drumming by Matt Guido. Wailing sax and bass clarinet by Eric Novak. Yes, wailing bass clarinet. That is something I'd never seen before. 

The Just Luckies brought bouncy indie pop with an assertive punk attitude. The lead vocals by KC Wheldon, were a nasal-edged yodel that gave a signature sound to the music. Bassist Liam LaFluer had a confident stance and bounced to the beat. Sarah Braunstein was cool and commanding on the drums. Noam Green executed the guitar part, and smiled broadly at the end of each song. The band all lit up and the audience whootted when they kicked into "Lake Michigan." But it was a duo of songs in the middle of their set that brought a one-two punch of self-possession "Don't call me baby" proclaims the opening line of "Big Bad Wolf," and the refrain, "Don't fucking touch me" in "Bossman." This band has a very clear voice and the audience happily took it on.

Superknova greeted us with, "Thank you for coming to my gender reveal party" with a dry, sardonic delivery. She mostly lets her amazing music speak for itself. There was a mixture of drum machine, synth, and backing tracks behind her singing and guitar. Her performance was so dynamic, the backing track faded from importance. It was all about watching her shape the sounds coming from the guitar, using it like a voice, even singing and cutting herself off, letting the guitar finish the thought or word. Avid fans were hooting and supporting and riding the waves of music with her. Queer and straight alike. Superknova's killer music moved us all. Just before playing the title track off the EP, she told the audience she is a proud Asian American, transgender woman. There are universal themes on the album and we will all benefit from there being less hate and more love and the ability to express who we are without fear. But bottom line, "It's a fucking gay album, man."  -TLM