Starting July off strong, ARZ rocked the house at Dante's in downtown Portland. Made up of lead singer/guitarist/songwriter Steve Adams and drummer/synthesizer-er Meryl Hale, the pair performed live along with some of their own pre-recorded tracks. The music was awesome and it sounded like a full-on, filled-out band. Big time.
Hale advised us that ARZ is heavily influenced by 70s bands like Rush, Yes, and ELP. They showed during this performance that they can rock with the best of them. Their music was filled with awesome change-ups and excellent guitar solos, vocals, drumming, and instrumental work. The songs are free-flowing and take us on a wicked journey. I was totally impressed by this band, and the audience lapped these tunes up greedily. This band successfully blends the power of the 70s and blends it masterfully into something new with a touch of gold.
ARZ has an album coming out this summer that will be in my collection for sure.
Echo Helstrom brought a unique energy and sound to the stage, delighting the audience. The band had a smooth, mellow sound that was overflowing with feeling. The catchy rythyms and hypnotic melodies contained many styles of music all rolled into one. The instruments themselves blended to produce a lovely sound: with smooth, mellow acoustic guitar, deep upright bass, driving, jazzy drums, and electric violin all changing from soft and gentle to bright and upbeat. They manage to blend Eastern sounds and classical strings, 60s beach music, varied harmonies, a dynamic range of volume, solos, echoes, feedback, progressions, and on, and on, and on . . . . The band is very ecclectic and talented in many genres and styles of music.
They currently have an album available on iTunes, and a new one will be released soon.
Obscured By Clouds has been around for a while, and their experience shows. They rocked the power chords, producing a solid hard-core sound. They made all the right moves to leave the audience begging for more: excellent guitar riffs, solos, and harsh sounds followed by softer ones with lots of little licks. Thumping, driving bass and drums supporting keyboards and killer lyrics made me move my head and tap my feet along with the kick-ass rock and roll.
The power of this band is awesome to behold live, as well as from the safety of home, cranked up on the CD player.
