RTB2, Menkena, Salim Nourallah, Wesley Geiger and Dovetail at the Granada Theater [Show Reviews]

Yeah, that headline is a mouthful. A stacked show with awesome local talent, emceed by Friend of the Blog Mark (of pantsless Local Edge fame), made for a pretty darn swell Saturday night at the Granada Theater.

If you’re not into local music (and if you’re not, how the heck did you find this blog?!), you better get your local music lovin’ hat on. The performances on Saturday weren’t flawless – sometimes they were downright confusing – but we have 3 good reasons why your next outing, Spotify playlist or car jam session should include some local tracks:

Numero uno: Ryan Thomas Becker’s voice and dance skills.
Okay, this might be 2 in one, but if you’ve ever seen RTB (-1) perform, you know that the voice and the acrobatic moves are part of the total package. Becker could sing the phone book and I’d be a happy camper, but I liked it even better when he started the night off with Wire to the Walls.

RTB2 also played some tracks from their new record (or as Becker said, “we just played our entire new album and no one noticed”), which were a bit tamer than their earlier tracks. Not that that’s a bad thing, but it might take some getting used to.

Also epic? Fog machines.

Numero dos: The lovely sound of Menkena.
We go to a lot of local shows, and one of the major issues we see is music that’s more a cacophony of sound than a cohesive melody. Not so with Menkena, whose sound really can only be described as delicious – a tasty combination of great instrumentation and amazing vocals from lead singer Jimmy Menkena. Plus, major bonus points to the band for actually taking advantage of the Granada’s 2 side projection screens for a fully visual music experience.

Hey guys, I think we found your next album cover.

Numero tres: The 70s are back, baby!
Someone call Wilder Valderrama and get That 70s Show back on the air, stat! Salim Nourallah has been transported here from the year 1978 to bring you back to the glory days of ridiculous sideburns and… whatever else the 70s were known for. Bell bottoms? Yeah. Bell bottoms.

Salim played a great vintage set, but we do have one criticism. And, reading public, please forgive us if this is how shows were done in the 70s, but the band could have looked a little more enthused about being on stage. I felt like we were imposing on them, asking them to play music against their will.

Apparently that’s their “thing,” but my “thing” is bands that like to play music. So there.

In Salim-land, that's a grin, a laugh and a guffaw. All in one.

Bonus local music loving factoid: silver pants are so hot right now.
If nothing else, Dovetail’s CD release party showed us that silver pants are IN. Lead singer Philip Creamer rocked some glittery slacks, along with a cape he donned during the band’s set, setting the fashion standard for the night. The set? It was okay – we’ll give their shiny new CD a listen before passing judgement. Stay tuned.

What's up, silver pants? How YOU doin'?