Tyler Trudeau Attempt and Roue' at Rudy's

Monday, July 11, 2005

Saturday night saw three more bands at Rudy's. I've seen the Tyler Trudeau Attempt many times now and they're always entertaining. It's aggressive pop, or shrill rock, or mild punk, or rhythmic garage, or something like that. Brian's voice has matured over the years to a point where the wail has some depth. This was the second time I'd seen them at Rudy's and the audience was bigger this time. They started out a bit sloppy, but pulled it together after a few songs. Besides, sloppiness becomes them. If they were too precise, they would lack the urgency that makes them shine. All of the guitar solos sound like he's just about to forget how to play. The first song was a solo guitar/voice piece, I don't know if it was new or if I just hadn't heard it before, but it was good stuff.
Roue' was the loudest band I've ever heard. Disorientingly loud. I was sitting down and got dizzy. There was so much noise that the sounds just became indistinguishable. They had set up a small wall of guitar pedals along the edge of the stage and, while playing, they put so much effort into working the pedals, but it just didn't seem to affect the sound. It seemed like a lot of wasted effort and, in face, caused some trouble a couple of times when one guitar player had to scramble madly trying to find the bad connection. That said, I really liked the band. They were aggressive and creative they had their shit together. All important things for a rock band.
Last was Nor I, who I missed at Ideat Village a couple of weeks ago. I was not overly impressed. It was competent post-strokes rock music. They had fans in the audience who sang along like they really cared, so I guess they appeal to some people.