NumberOneGun, Sincerely Me & Seven Dollar Jacket

Monday night’s NumberOneGun CD release show promised to be, at the very least, an educational experience for me. I had never seen any of the three bands on the bill that night live — although NumberOneGun’s Forever EP, the CD being released on this blustery evening, has been a staple of my late listening habits — nor had I ever been to the somewhat mysteriously-titled Neighborhood Church. Moreover, with the current shortage of homey all-ages indie-rock hovels in Chico, it was quite gratifying to be attending a show comprised of entirely local bands, the first two of which quelled any fears I may have had about the lack of promising successors to the present champions of the scene, such as the evening’s headliner, NumberOneGun.
Opening things up were Seven Dollar Jacket, a rather fresh-faced bunch of lads who, despite a somewhat ominous sounding introductory number, stuck rather tightly to a surprisingly punk-ish sound. This was in no way unpleasant, and in fact, for a fan of old-fashioned new school such as myself, Seven Dollar Jacket’s early-Mxpx / Pulley brand of nominally happy punk was refreshing.
Seven Dollar Jacket were followed directly by Sincerely Me, whose own youthful countenances made even the members of Seven Dollar Jacket seem grizzled. Musically, the effect was the opposite, as the sound of Sincerely Me leaned far more toward the introspective, what some might call emo. To me, Sincerely Me sounded like Isabell sounding like old Get Up Kids.
Isabell once again came to mind as NumberOneGun began preparing for their set; two of the four members of the latter — bassist Trevor Sellers and guitarist Ben Tietz — were Isabell alumni. But as the band tore into “The Starting Line,” the first track off of the Forever EP, any comparisons between the two proved to be superficial at best. NumberOneGun have an immediate accessibility about their music, vocally and musically, which was evident to me from the first time I heard Forever. Live, this effect was amplified both by the band’s superb playing and lively stage demeanor. Having recently returned from a short tour of the Northwest, NumberOneGun were obviously road-tightened, and their pleasantly mid-tempo brand of melodicism seemed to more than match any of the mainstream “emo” bands I’ve come across of late. As the show came to a close, I doubt I was alone in feeling the distinct notion that NumberOneGun will soon be the name on the hearts and lips of many, not only in Chico, but in the world beyond.
– Daniel Taylor
– Photos by Jeff Shaner

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