PHOTOS: Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody, Oblisk, Solar Temple Cult by KrazyK

PJ's Lager House, Detroit -- January 30th, 2010

Let's be honest.
This is my fist post on MOTORCITYBLOG.
There certainly is a lack of diverse coverage in the more "mainstream" arts & culture mags and rags...and that's why this anti-blog is such a good thing.

So, on to the bands. Solar Temple Cult opened the show. A raw, energy filled band, with hefty drums and searing vocals. There was already a good crowd watching, yet they played in almost complete darkness. With the naked eye, you could only see the drummer...and the occasional others from MCB photo flashes.

Oblisk was next, playing what might be described as a less-British Pink Floyd...in a good way. I mean that they had trance-inducing riffs, but no tea and biscuits. They had heavy, freestyle-type riffs, sequenced-squealing type effects, and an occasional singer-songwriter rock-lullaby.
Probably the most diverse band of the evening.

And the headliner, Adam Franklin, who actually is from England. He seemed a little tired initially, but after a quick look at his tour schedule, I can understand why. His music was much more melodically refined than the other bands. Less distortion, more dynamic. Some garage-rock scenesters might say "soft", but being a musician myself, I see distortion is too often used to hide musical inadequacies. Made me think of Genesis, only with less Peter Gabriel theatrics.
My favorite band of the evening.