Covin and Double of the Dial at Toad's

Covin and Double of the Dial at Toad's - 8/17/06

Who the hell ever heard of a show in New Haven starting before 10 o'clock? I guess the kids' parents were coming to pick them up early, so they had to start the show before sundown or something. Because of that, I missed the first three bands, including Spider and Fly - the main band I went to see.
It was the Covin album release show. Covin do overblown rockstar metal with Green Day moments. They certainly have their act down, but when it's all just right, there's no room for magic. And I want magic damnit. Plus, they think it's acceptable to play a Motley Crue cover - so fuck that shit.
Double of the Dial seemed like an afterthought on the part of the organizers. They weren't named on the promo tickets and they played after the "headliners." Their first two songs were absolutely awful - the second was some kind of funk/metal piece of crap - and I was inclined to leave, but I could hardly consider my opinion justified based on those two. And frankly, everyone else had left and I felt bad for them - fewer than ten people remained after Covin was finished. I'm glad I stuck around. The rest of their set was actually really good. They went from Sabbathy psychedelic metal to shoegazey country (My Bloody Valentine vs. Uncle Tupelo.) They weren't glamorous and didn't have much of an act, as such - which was a breath of fresh air after Covin. Just guys playing their guitars and performing their songs. My major complaint with them is in the name. It's hard to say and nobody will ever remember it. I look forward to seeing them again, though.

I took pictures, but I can't be bothered to upload them right now.

http://www.myspace.com/covin
http://www.myspace.com/doubleofthedial

Also:
Pencilgrass put out a bulletin wherein they claim to be breaking up. If true, this makes me unhappy. Their version of Wild Thing was a worthy successor to Hendrix's. Hopefully some weird and spacey phoenix will rise from the ashes.