Tennis, Gauntlet Hair and Gangcharger bring variations of noise, buzz to the Bluebird Theater | Reverb — Reverb Music — The Denver Post

Live review: Tennis, Gauntlet Hair, Gangcharger @ the Bluebird Theater

By and | November 26th, 2010 | 12 comments

After seeing Tennis on Wednesday night at the Bluebird, I left with full confirmation of the meaning of “buzz band.” The husband-and-wife duo, the latest in a recent spate of groups built around jangling, reverb-drenched guitars, lo-fi aesthetics and sun-funny surf rock, played a short headlining set at the east Colfax venue that night and proved in under an hour that the term is appropriate. Their schtick is painfully adorable — sort of poppy, sort of fun, to be sure — but the music’s allure fades more quickly than flavor in a stick of gum.

Sure, the music’s attractive, in a TV jingle sort of way. Vocalist/keyboardist Alaina Moore’s singing — which often invoked Dolly Parton’s warbling, though more suited for a beach party — was truly ethereal, and the poppy melodies she coerced from her keyboard were almost sickeningly taffy-esque. Husband/guitarist Patrick Riley accompanied with jangling aplomb, mostly on a telecaster (with a strap cinched short enough that the body covered most of his rib cage) imbued with so much reverb that it sounded as if it was coming from an open manhole cover, while drummer James Barone filled out minimal pop rhythms.

The result was a style that has recently caught the indie world by storm. Sure, they sounded like contemporaries Surfer Blood or Best Coast, but what I heard was a fairly vapid version of Baltimore’s Beach House, sorely missing Victoria Legrand’s throaty, suductive élan and Alex Scally’s informed confidence. Tennis came across as another not-so-faithful copy of a running trend, not so much as something new and worthy of all the attention they’re currently enjoying. Like a great buzz, their sound promises to evolve into not much more than a headache and an unclear memory of why it felt so good the night before.

Denver’s Gauntlet Hair, a duo that might easily be lumped in with Tennis and the other janglers, took the stage earlier in the night, as the Bluebird was just beginning to fill up. That categorizing, however, sells these Chicago expats and Rhinoceropolis success stories exceedingly short. Their sound, while minimal and thick, thick, thick with reverb, shared more with Young Coyotes, Tame Impala and A Place To Bury Strangers than the aforementioned buzz bands. Noisy and repetitive, it was obvious these guys were digging into something bigger, and having a ton of fun while they were doing it that night.

Another noisy Denver band, Gangcharger, opened the evening with one of their best-sounding sets so far. The four-piece, fronted by Ethan Ward and Paige Peterson, pulled their sound from early Sonic Youth and pre-shoegaze, but refined it with a solid familiarity of noise and an easy sense of experiment. Maybe it was the size of the venue, but their sound came across just a little louder, and a little more pleasingly menacing than previous shows, showing the band is likely beginning to hit a more solid, confident stride.

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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at DenverThread.com, and his giglist at Gigbot.

John Moore founded The Denver Post Underground Music Showcase in 2001 and is now the paper’s theater critic. Follow him on Twitter here.

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  • Chad

    Refreshing review, thank you.

  • ColeHodder

    Gauntlet Hair is a trio. TRIO TRIO TRIO. uno.. dos…. tressssssssssss people onstage. Are you sure you attended this event?

  • http://twitter.com/slainson Suzanne Lainson

    They identify themselves as a duo. From their MySpace page: GAUNTLET HAIR is: Andy R. and Craig Nice.

  • http://andandandandblog.blogspot.com/ And And And And Blog

    In my musical food pyramid, bubblegum pop is a major food group. Thus, the saccharine sound of Tennis more than hit the spot. I find sustenance in both the sound and the message of their music. rnrnAesthetically I find Tennis more appealing than their 50s/60s pop revival compatriots like Best Coast and Dum Dum Girls. I feel like their chords strike closer to the heart of that musical period, which I have personally always found underrated. The sappiness of that era always seemed such a perfect vehicle through which to transport the ironic sensibilities and complex ideas of indie music. More than any other similar act, Tennis hides less under a lo-fi shield to allow the rays to really come into their sunshine pop. rnrnAs far as the ideas and words that flow through their happy clappy songs, Tennis provides more than moon/June rhyme schemes. The concepts and reporting on location lyrics call to mind Sufjan Stevens (and makes one pine for Sufjan to reclaim his joke 50 states project and delve into the Eastern seaboard). You could see the enthusiasm for their music coming through their live performance, although I feel like some of that enthusiasm got lost in translation to the audience who seemed to like, but not love the show. rnrnAll in all, it was great to see Tennis live and to hear additional tunes besides the fantastic breadcrumb mp3s theyu2019ve been posting online. So hereu2019s to Tennis, my favorite new band of 2010 whose sunshine pop will hopefully shed some light on Denveru2019s music scene.rn

  • http://andandandandblog.blogspot.com/ And And And And Blog

    Also, Andy from Gauntlet Hair reminds me of Ralphie from A Christmas Story.

  • Mike

    If you don’t like jangly surf-pop, why are you reviewing it? This is like someone who thinks zombie films are stupid reviewing the newest George Romero film. You clearly dislike the genre, its followers and its tropes. As an “old-school punk,” have you ever worn anything that may have identified you as such? If so, then leave the guitarist alone about how he wears his guitar. You didn’t like Tennis before you went to the show and went in order to be able to write a review that bashed them for being what they are.

  • Curmudgeon

    At least they didn’t pocket the cash bluebird gave them to stock the green room, oh wait… they did do that.

  • where’s my comp beer?

    that is the story going around. i was just wondering why a venue would give one of the bands the money to stock the green room, instead of stocking it themselves. is that how the BB usually stocks it? I’m guessing not. so they gave them some cash that was supposed to be shared? just curious. if true, I say that’s a double fault!!!

  • Slamin A. Demat

    ha!n

  • Nice Pants

    It’s nice to see a reporter do something other than simply reiterate their hokey and exaggerated back-story that doubles as the greatest marketing ploy since Kings of Leon started writing songs for soccer moms. Their recordings are OK, but not nearly as incredible as the blogosphere has made the band out to be. Clearly they need to hone their live chops, and someone finally called them out on it.

  • Lewis

    The Bluebird typically stocks the green room for big enough acts, and I’m assuming they were weak at the knees with every request coming from the Tennis camp due to their immense buzz. Thus, I’m doubting the spread back there that night came out of Tennis’ pocket.

  • Galaxsthemovie

    Weird, is it the headlining bands responsibility to stock beers and snacks for support? just curious how the bluebird works. if so, that is the most retarded way to do things.