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Thursday, September 7, 2006
 

I wish I had an official number for how many times I have gone to a show wondering if (insert band) was going to be able to pull off whatever it was that had inspired me to check out the material live. I had this feeling last night as I drove to Houston to see the Advantage and a couple of other bands I had never heard of. For those that don't know, the Advantage are an awesome band from Sacramento that has dedicated their lives to covering as many 8-bit Nintendo songs as possible. I have listened to the band's latest effort, Elf Titled, a million times and it is one of my favorite discs this year. Most of the songs are not very long though and I was a bit concerned how the band would go from song to song and I also wondered how well everything would translate live. Well, if a band has dedicated itself to covering Nintendo songs then I have now found that you should just trust in them to blow your mind. The Advantage totally and completely rocked Walter's last night and the Satin Hooks and Motion Turns It On were rather good as well. Instead of stopping and going all of the time the band just strung together song after song into one giant Nintendo montage that had the whole crowd jumping and pounding their fists in the air. Speaking of the crowd, it was a nice size for a Wednesday night and everyone there was very much into the Advantage. I never thought I would attend a show where kids yelled out "Play Mario!" or "Finally, Contra Live!" I have to say that the best thing about the band live is their drummer who carried the band on his shoulders throughout the performance. The three guitarists seem so intent on perfectly recreating these covers that it leaves the door open for someone to steal the show, and the drummer does just that. On the other hand it could just be my soft spot for any passion filled and slightly insane looking musicians who do their best to physically destroy their drum kit. In any case I was very impressed with the Advantage and I highly recommend checking them out live if you get a chance. As for the Satin Hooks and Motion Turns It On, both are from Houston and also come highly recommended. Check below for some songs (no live tracks, sorry) and more commentary.

:The Advantage - Contra (Alien's Lair And Boss Music):  For me I thought that this song came across the best live. It moved with a fantastic ferocity that was undeniable to ignore. I think this is really when the dorks in attendance started to mosh, I mean the band played this so well they had kids moshing to Nintendo songs! If that does not make you a little bit inquisitive as to how the band handles these covers then you probably need to seek help. This song is from Elf Titled, which you need, and you can get some more info on the band at their Myspace.

:Satin Hooks - Soda Song: The Sation Hooks were a really nice surprise Wednesday night. It is not too surprising now that I have seen that they won the 2006 Houston Press award for best Experiemental/Avant Garde artist. Sometimes it is hard to get into a band when you don't know any of the songs but I had no problem getting into what the Satin Hooks were doing. Give this song a listen and see for yourself how good these guys are at making their style of avant garde indie pop songs. Keep an eye out for this band here and everywhere. And as always, be their friend on Myspace.

I would have a song from Motion Turns It On but their Myspace has pretty slim pickings in comparison too all of the really cool instrumental jamming that they did last night. They are apparently putting together an album so I will wait until then to post up some stuff with more in-depth commentary.

- John Laird -



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