On their first East Coast tour in five years, Seattle’s Visqueen presented Philadelphia with a brand new lineup consisting of CHRISTINA BAUTISTA on bass and former SCREAMING TREES drummer BARRETT MARTIN backing the one and only singer/guitarist RACHEL FLOTARD.
Simply put, this show was an absolute blast! Flotard and Bautista shared lively banter between songs as Bautista’s family was in attendance and when they harmonized, the audience could genuinely tell that they were having a great time. And the drumming! Their regular drummer BEN HOOKER, who took time off for this tour because he became a father, is fantastic, but I don’t remember Visqueen ever sounding this powerful. Martin is one of the most powerful, driving drummers I’ve ever seen play live and his power just drove the songs (culled mainly from the new Message to Garcia, though some from the first two albums were played as well). In any case, though, it’s astonishing just how much powerful the Message to Garcia material was live, as the horns, keyboards and pedal steel guitar found on songs like “Ward,” “The Capitol” and “Beautiful Amnesia” were replaced by a power trio with the emphasis on POWER. Amazingly, though, the songs still retained their exuberant melodies and at one point during “The Capitol”, Flotard’s vocals almost propelled it into vintage soul territory. All in all, this was an excellent set from an excellent band.
Openers Beretta 76 were a fitting opener as they ably straddled the line between ’70s hard rock and late ’70s punk. They even covered IGGY AND THE STOOGES‘ “Gimme Danger”, fitting since that band has reunited with JAMES WILLIAMSON, the guitarist on that track.
