A few weeks ago, I went to Johnny Brenda’s for several different reasons. Obviously, I wanted to see VIVA VOCE as well as openers SILVERSUN PICKUPS. However, this would also be my first time attending a show there. Although it’s a bar (with some of the best beer selection in town) that’s been in operation for decades in Fishtown and is now a restaurant as well, it only recently underwent renovations to have its upstairs be made into a music venue that does shows, mainly on Thursdays and weekends. I’d seen photos of the club, and it looked gorgeous. What I didn’t expect, however, is that it would be so small. It can’t hold more than 150 people on the main level, though there’s also a small balcony which increases the capacity somewhat. Nevertheless, it’s a really nice, small room and the sound was good as well.
So what about the actual music? Well first off I felt sort of bad for headliners Viva Voce. Playing to about half as many people as opening band Silversun Pickups, they still managed to turn in a fine set of quirky, harmony-laden tunes that takes its cue equally from modern ‘60s psych-referencing acts like BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE alongside folkier ‘90s duos like THE SPINNANES or MECCA NORMAL. Yes, the comparison to other male/female duos is somewhat unavoidable, but drummerKEVIN ROBINSON and his wife ANITA ROBINSON (who plays guitar and sings lead on most songs) added a third member (KIM BAXTER of ALL GIRL SUMMER FUN BAND, who played bass and sang backup vocals) to expand their acoustic-based sound.
Openers Silversun Pickups were the stars of the show, easily upstaging the headliners and drawing way more people. Playing songs from their Pikul EP and full-length album Carnvas, they wowed the audience (including a rather large and intimidating-looking, but ultimately rather amusing man with a ponytail who was dancing uncontrollably up front throughout the duration of their set) by playing the songs much louder and with more ferocity and intensity than what’s displayed on their records. The SMASHING PUMPKINS influence is strong, but fortunately they seem more into Gish than their later work, so I don’t mind that so much. In fact, I really like their merging of early ‘90s US grunge with the UK shoegazer stalwarts from the same era like MY BLOODY VALENTINE and SPACEMEN 3. However, this night’s performance was less about subtlety, layering and mood than about in-your-face rocking.
