Elliott, Mae & The Cushion Theory

A long and treacherous road led me to my first show ever at the esteemed and famous Bottom of the Hill club in San Francisco to see one of my new favorite bands, Elliott. Thunderstorms and missed exits threatened a timely arrival, but the necessary adjustments were made, and I arrived eager and early.
The opening band, The Cushion Theory, hailed from Oakland and proceeded to pelt the crowd with an extremely sloppy shell of what good emotional rock 'n' roll is supposed to be. The lead and rhythm guitarists shared off-key vocals and ill-advised axe solos throughout their stage time with little or no regard to audience members' ear drums. The group's keyboard player / screamer / dancer proved to be the most dynamic of the group and served as the only source of excitement for the band. Though the band played sloppily, they remained determined to rock the audience and ended their set with a powerful scream-along. Expect good things from this band, just not today. The Cushion Theory soon made way for Elliott tour-mates, Mae.
Mae played a solid set of pop-y rock tunes and seemed to have a big following of fans in attendance, as evidenced by a group of girls in front singing each and every word to the group's songs. This band also had a keyboard player / singer / dancer who added a sonic ambiance to the music. Mae's singer became so caught up in the rock that he smashed his guitar, accidentally, into the microphone, causing it to dent and feedback for a few seconds. Otherwise unscathed, the group's polished sound resonated over the club's speakers and delighted the semi-packed house.
Elliott's newest album, Song In The Air, has not left my CD rotation since I have owned it, and I was really looking forward seeing them live. The group took the stage to a great reception and ripped into a genre defying set that included some songs from their last LP, False Cathedrals, as well as newer songs. Those in attendance who were hoping to hear strictly older material were to be disappointed as Elliott stuck mainly to tracks off of their newest release. Singer Chris Higdon's voice never faltered through its digression from brutal scream to delicate whimper, and the group's new guitar and bass player added a unique flair to the show. Electronic, synth-fused noise haunted the background of most of the songs and provided an atmospheric boost for the group, specifically on the song "Land and Water." Drummer Kevin Ratterman hammered out complex drum fills enroute to the group's meatier choruses. Perhaps a Tuesday night was not the greatest time to book a band as deserving of a packed crowd as Elliott is, nevertheless the group played an extremely short, yet inspirational set and called it a night, despite cries of "one more!" If you ever hear of Elliott playing near you again, do yourself a favor and go see them.

- Ryan Prado

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