Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 02/13/2001
In the mid-'90s, Providence, RI's ace
power pop hopefuls were riding high after a few tough indie years, constantly on the road promoting their major-label debut,
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Sony's
Teenage Symphonies to God. They'd added respected pro
Tommy Keene to augment a sharp power trio. And a hot club act reputation was successfully being put to test on bigger-barn touring, first with the
Jesus & Mary Chain and
Mazzy Star, and then with the just-breaking
Oasis. (This March 1995 Chicago cabaret
Metro gig was likely on that
Oasis tour, since the
Metro holds 1500-2000, and the set is only 27 minutes!) Such lofty days proved to be ephemeral, however.
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Sony abused and abandoned them like tacky trinkets, an embattled third LP was poorly distributed and disappointed, and a session work-related relocation to L.A. meant the loss of guitarist
Jeffrey Underhill, leaving old mates
Paul Chastain and
Ric Menck to limp on alone. All the better reason, then, to appreciate this document of the group at their apex. As tough and heavy as
Teenage Symphonies but more breathless, like its terrific predecessor
In the Presence of Greatness (the opening of
"This Life is Killing Me" here is so much harder and faster, it sounds like the start of
the Clash's
"Complete Control"!),
Rock Concert exudes their
Byrds/
Raspberries/
Big Star mix of weighty backbeat, fervid vocals, and mellifluous melodies. Longer sets then accommodated more of their emerging, pre-
alt-country pop, found here on
"Time Wraps Around You," but
Rock Concert slams through
"My Blank Pages," the smokin'
"Atmosphere," and their classic
"Ash and Earth" with lit-up desire. No doubt their infrequent appearances nowadays still emit this grit and spit, but this is a kicking reminder of what most old fans miss.
~Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide
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