Tommy Keene with Doug Gillard and Sally Crewe and the Sudden Moves - Church (Boston), Sunday, September 11, 2011

A strong whiff of Matador Records and Robert Pollard ran throughout this bill, with both Tommy Keene and Doug Gillard having strong bonds to both the label as recording artists and to Pollard as a collaborator and band member. Of course Keene had the Keene Brothers LP that he recorded with Pollard and was a member of both the Ascended Masters and Boston Spaceships tours, post-*Guided By Voices* break up mark I. Gillard made his indelible mark on GBV during the second phase of GBV, and has also created a some side projects with Pollard, including the most excellent LIFEGUARDS project. Lastly, Sally Crewe was married for sometime to label co-founder Gerard Cosloy, and released a release on the UK-based sister label 12XU. So, tightly wound pop songs was to be the hallmark of the bill, and it didn’t disappoint.

By the time I got in the club, Crewe had been on for a couple of songs, and shortly she was joined by Gillard, who also contributed his playing and singing skills to her most record, Transmit/Receive. Sharp pop hooks, impassioned singing, concisely delivered. Winner! For Gillard’s set, he’d lose tie (I gotta find one like that…the 45 adapter pattern was pretty cool) but keep the band. He’s pumped out some pretty solid records in his own right, after being integral to bands such as Death of Samantha and Gem, as well as recent projects like Bambi Kino (keep your eyes out for a forthcoming interview about that and many other topics), but last year’s Call From Restricted got surprisingly short shrift (I think only “Gibraltar” and “Temperament Twist” made it. Gillard brought a strong guitar foundational element to GBV, and his prowess has not rusted at all, with effortless runs and hard riffing on “Me & the Wild” and the nasty tone of “Drip Nose Boy” yielding to his most-well known composition, the ringing “I Am A Tree.” Great to see Gillard back on stage, though seeing him play an SG rather than the Les Paul was unexpected. It doesn’t matter though; he could kill it on a Danelectro or any other six stringer.

Keene put out a career-spanning 2 CD retrospective a year ago, but that wasn’t meant as a parting gesture. Instead of reflecting on the (what should have been) smash hits he’s penned since 1982, Keene’s produced yet another batch of sharp, smart, hook-filled songs. Anyone listening to the current single “Deep Six Saturday” would be hard pressed to not bob their heads and not get flashes of prime Westerberg or Zander filling their heads. Seriously, it’s as good as song as Keene’s done, as hard as that it is to believe. Never having seen Keene play solo, the vigor on display of ripping into guitar chords and leading the band into a big cloud of dust was impressive. Power pop doesn’t have to be all buffed out and shiny; there was plenty of grit and sweat in tonight’s doses.