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All photos by Sammy Braxton-Haney
As the twin guitars of Mary Timony and Betsy Wright kick off the evening at San Francisco’s Rickshaw Stop, it’s hard not to sense the ghost of seminal New York band, Television. “No Thirds”, the opener, features overlapping. angular guitar lines that bring to mind Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, but, unlike Television, Timony and Wright layer the song with tight harmonies.
It’s a solid beginning to the show, which features a majority of songs from Timony’s newest release, Untame the Tiger. “Don’t Disappear” follows and it’s clear that Chad Molter is adding some muscle to the proceedings with an assortment of punchy bass lines that compliment the fingerpicked melodies of TImony.
“Looking for the Sun” combines a bent-string drone with chiming arpeggios, while “On the Floor” is all powerpop with a dose of Thin Lizzy on the double lead lines. While Timony recorded the new album with legendary British drummer Dave Mattacks, on tour, David Christian does a great job of keeping things moving in a streamlined, economical fashion which maintains the focus on Timony.
Wright, who has played with Timony in Ex Hex, shines throughout, her vocals adding heft to Timony’s sometimes tenuous delivery. This dynamic makes itself known on the single “Dominoe”, a top contender for indie guitar rock’s feel-good hit of the summer.
Timony’s former band, Helium, gets their turn in the spotlight as she introduces “Leon’s Space Song” as being ‘vintage”, and in the hands of the current band, it’s chugging rhythm fits right in with the sound of her new material. Another Helium song, “Walk Away”, is the last encore tonight, and it puts the cap on a solid set from an indie rock legend.
