I was talking with Melanie of Music Saves before the show yesterday and she made a damn good point. Neither of us had seen The Veils before, but she had a suspicion that this could turn out to be a really amazing concert. I agreed. Their last album, Nux Vomica, released in 06 in the UK, and this past Spring here in the states, was a disc that was packed with tension, drama, passion, moments of grinding guitars, moments of grand pop, and most importantly, compelling songs. A great album doesn’t always equate to a great stage presence or a great show, but it was enough to give a couple scenesters some hope for the night.
I think it was during the third song of the set, the simmering, evil sounding “Jesus for the Jugular,” that Melanie made another good point, there should really be ten times as many people here to see this. Let’s just call her On-The-Mark Melanie from now on, ’cause she was on the mark again. Three songs into the set, it was apparent that The Veils were going to come pretty damn close to amazing.
If Finn Andrews and his bandmates were distressed by the low turnout of their current tour (as he hinted that it wasn’t only Cleveland that had a small showing), they didn’t let that affect them on stage. They were tight on the pop songs like “Advice for Young Mothers to Be” and “Calliope,” effectively mimicking the large sounds on record with a four piece band, and they were fierce and fearless when it came time to rock it. Their take on Scritti Pollitti’s “Lions After Slumber” was a show stealer, as was Nux Vomica’s album opener, and last night’s set closer, “Not Yet,” where the love torn wail of Andrews was magnified by a rough, electric arrangement.
The Veils – Lions After Slumber [download]The Veils – Not Yet [download]
