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She Wants Revenge
Astra Heights
xrayok
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Martini Ranch
Scottsdale, AZ
3/07/2006
By: Meagan Rockne
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Tonight, the Martini Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ is packed with a
sold-out crowd anxious for headlining and buzz-worthy band,
She Wants Revenge.
Opening the night was local band, xrayok - or something to
that effect. I felt the set was a bit too long for an opening
band. However, they did provide a service. I was able to get
to the bar and get pleasantly drunk while not missing
anything major. Plus, they had one song that sounded like
the chorus to Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone."
Astra Heights, hailing from Texas, have to feel pretty good
about themselves. It's not everyday that a headlining band
asks you to join them on a nearly two month long tour of the
nation. Prior to the show, She Wants Revenge's Adam Bravin
described their music as Ritchie Valens meets David Bowie,
which is an accurate portrayal. They also have 1960s British
pop feel, which brought visions of mini dresses, motorcycle
jackets and tight pants to mind. Lucky for me, the band was
sporting two of my mod-inspired fantasies. (The mini dress
was worn by myself, and not one of the band
members.)
Astra Heights' set ended and you could feel the audience
push to the front as the stage grew darker. Reflective of the
dark mood of the music, She Wants Revenge took to the
stage in a sea of darkness and played their set in as minimal
light as possible. They seemed to blend into the dark,
sporting all black, and would have disappeared if not for the
virtually always-lit cigarette in Adam's lips and a hit of hot
pink peeking out from Justin's waistband.
She Wants Revenge has gotten a lot of praise and censure
for their music. Yes, they do sound like Joy Division and
Interpol. This is bound to happen when a band influences
you, but I don't think that they are trying to emulate either
of those bands. What I was most impressed with was their
sound. When a band that uses synthesizers and other
processed effects on their albums, is often doesn't come
across as well live. She Wants Revenge sounds just as good
live as they do on their album, if not better - as live you get
to see Justin ooze seduction as he sings about sex,
masochism, dating and love.
The room was separated by legal drinking age using a
barrier right down the middle, but the separation didn't stop
the audience or the band from getting into it. As the set
ended and the room was once again filled with light, the
audience had no choice put to leave with the thoughts of sex
and pain still lingering.
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