Waiting in the Middle East Upstairs as the roadies finished setting up for the fourth band of the night, I was reminded of Flickerstick’s connection with the 2001 VH1 reality show Bands on the Run by those standing around the nearly filled 200-capacity club. This VH1 fame must surely get mentioned in every article that has since been printed about them, and for better or worse, this one will be no different. When the band finally took the stage at just past eleven o’clock, I understood, at least in part, why they won the four band, fight to the death competition based nearly completely on their live show.
The Texas quintet opened with a tension filled slow burner – rocking, but not too immediate, and energetic, but not too filled out yet – that finally erupted with all that had been previously lacking. The second half of this song would set the tone for the rest of their set. This promising start, then, left me feeling a little disappointed by what was to follow. After three or four songs I felt as though I had heard all that the band had to offer. While they had good stage presence, a full, densely layered sound, and what seemed to be a rapt and admiring audience, each following song began to mesh into the last. Their brand of epic, shoot-for-the-stars rock (think of the place where U2 meets the swagger of the age old "sex, drugs and rock and roll") was well performed with an intense energy and passion. However, my ongoing hope that the next song would throw something a little different into the mix kept me from really getting into the show. It wasn’t until the final song of their encore-less set that I found something to capture me the way the first did, and by that time, I had already lost hope.
Backtracking a couple hours, we’re at the same club only this time being faced by the New Jersey indie rockers, Spiraling. While this foursome was less focused on their rock and roll presentation, they were somehow more intriguing. Frontman Tom Brislin’s frenetic keyboard playing was a sight to see all on its own (he was formerly the touring keyboardist with Yes – and it often shows through in the band’s songs, as well as his playing), and did a good job complimenting the guitar work of Marty O’Kane. The bleeps and bloops that came from the synthesizers added a layer to their sound that gave it a somewhat robotic feel. This was a theme only pushed along by the tight, though sometimes jarring, rhythm section and songs titles like "Transmitter". The band charged through their set (Brislin dancing the whole way), choosing not to spend much time speaking between songs. It didn’t much matter, given that with this band, the songs carried the set right along. Before I knew it, they were packing up to go, setting the bar just high enough to be out of reach for the rest of the night.
