A Minor Forest, the iMPs & Third Harmonic Distortion

It may have just been a trial run, but the show’s line-up suggested nothing of the sort. Featuring Baltimore natives Third Harmonic Distortion, local rockers The iMPs and the San Francisco-based A Minor Forest, this show boasted a power packed roster with enough indie cred to actually make some people care. And care they did. Sitting in the entrance of the Blue Room watching the people stroll in, it became apparent that the quiet masses had turned out for this show, and it was in fact a pretty diverse crowd. There were high school kids there, dorm kids, local musicians and artists, a handful of tough guys and even some pizza parlor employees.

One of the nice things about The Blue Room is that they do have all ages rock shows, and that really lends itself to the scene. It’s a place where kids can see good independent rock shows without worrying about being in some stinkin’ bar where a bunch of drunks are socializing like sharks at a feeding frenzy. The Blue Room surpasses that meat-market mentality and actually furthers the cause of community because the people in charge book rock shows with bands that they like. It’s not so much a business venture as it is a labor of love, and that’s what makes it worthwhile. But I digress.

Third Harmonic Distortion took the stage—which was simply a section of the floor at the back of the theater’s wood room—relatively promptly, an irregular occurrence at any rock show. Normally, especially at the Blue Room, bands take the stage as late as possible to ensure a good sized crowd, but on Thursday night, Third Harmonic Distortion didn’t have to wait for anyone.

When the Baltimore quartet started, I was in the theater’s kitchen where the makeshift studio was put together. Though I had heard the band’s name before, I had never heard their music, and was extremely surprised and impressed with their overall sound from the first note on. The music is indie rock, no doubt about it, but it’s not that whining, monotonous, spineless, emo stuff (not that there’s anything wrong with that); Third Harmonic Distortion plays the rock. The combination of the instrument sounds (distortion mixed with clean channel work, big deep rhythms) and an aggressive musical stance made not only this band’s sound impressive, but it made the live show feel much more in tune with a powerful vibe. The band was there to play, and they did it pretty well.

And while the rock was big and fat, it was also well put together. Don’t get me wrong, I like a few one-, two- and three-chord riff-rock bands (KARP, Shellac, Unsane, etc.), but the music of Third Harmonic Distortion is alitle more complex that most of that stuff. The waling guitar and driving bass play off each other well, and the deep tone of the drums not only provides a solid rhythmic anchor, but also adds a dark tone to the overall feel of the music. Scotty the iMP told me that he noticed a piece of cloth over the THD snare head, and that explains why it sounded like he was hitting a taught sheet every time he struck his snare. The music was catchy and easy to bob a head or tap a toe to, but it cannot be described as poppy. The melodies were easy to pick up on, but had a really tough sound. Definitely a band worth checking out, Third Harmonic Distortion finished to accolades from the good-sized crowd. While the kids sat on the curb out front, The iMPs set up inside.

The first few songs of the iMP set were warm-ups for the band. The engineers in the back room didn’t start recording until third song, and the power trio used the opportunity to get a few standards out of the way; "Vegitarian Lesbian" was the one the crowd reacted to the most, as usual. The iMPs proved that once again, they can rule a show, and it’s no wonder that they’re becoming one of Chico’s favorite bands. With hard tracks like the Sabbath-esque "I Scare" and poppy numbers like "Summertime" and "Before Our Birth," the iMPs repertoire is full of well-crafted songs and thoughtful, cynical and funny lyrics and a powerful edge. This is all exemplified in the set’s highlight, "Lead the Blind," known to a few diehard drunken fans simply as "#17." The song isn’t a regular in the band’s set, and I was personally happy to see an imposing drunkard in the front row emphatically requesting the song.

A Minor Forest represented yet another shift in the musical nature of the evening. A power trio from San Francisco, A Minor Forest is considered one of the city’s best indie rock acts. The music walks the line between heavily composed and structured compositions, and straight metal—big rock with a kick and bit of an attitude. What we got last Thursday was a lot less metal and a lot more in the pensive vein of rock. A Minor Forest explored mostly the softer, wandering side of their music, with occasional delves into the harder stuff to make a point here and there. The rise and fall of the energy with the music enthralled those who remained after the iMPs, and A Minor Forest played an alright set, albeit a short one.

Hopefully this trial run will prove a successful venture, and the Live at the Blue Room sessions will attempt to make something out of the evening. The Blue Room stands as Chico’s best independent theater company, but it is also nice to see the place also playing host to the kind of shows that can call almost no where else home.

by Max Sidman

Bookmark: