Boston's own The Motion Sick - Travis Richter, Matthew Girard, Patrick Mussari, and Michael Epstein - opened for what was to be an evening of great rock music at TT the Bears. A comrade noted the group's coordinating skinny ties and how nice it is to see some care put into stagewear selection. And no, this coordination was not to amp up sub-par sound or energy. Quite to the contrary, The Motion Sick sweated and stomped their way through "Walk on Water" and "High Society" among others, and somewhat successfully convinced the mellow crowd to join in Dance Dance Revolution up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right moves to the catchy "30 Lives", and squish together for a group photo. Epstein exuded confidence through his piercing gaze out over the sea of heads (or perhaps he was threatening the sound man as the band battled bits of technical dysfunction) as threads of synthesized sound crept their way around stage. Epstein, through long monologue and mention of it being Bastille Day, introduced the final song "Jean Paul". The song tells the gruesome story set during the French Revolution of a powerful figurehead who contracts a skin disease which makes his skin fall off. As treatment, he soaks in the tub all day, his skin falling off around him, until one day a little old woman is let in to talk with him and instead stabs him in his heart. During the epic, drummer Richter, bald and mustached, swung his head from left to right, as if searching the crowd for that little old woman. Toward the end, Richter locked eyes with bassist Girard and so severe was his gaze, the whites of his eyes glistening under the stage lights, that I feared the whole drum set might go flying into Epstein. Mussari dove head-first into the power of the song, falling and writhing on the stage until the silk backing of his vest was wrinkled and sweaty. The song finished with everyone standing and safe, and The Motion Sick left the stage to hearty applause.
Ha Ha Tonka followed in the wake of The Motion Sick and quickly won over the females (and males) in attendance with their Ozark innocence and broad smiles. The foursome vacillated between quick twang-infused rock and soulful acapella with a whole lot of foot-stomping and tambourine. In contrast to Epstein's open-eye performance, Brian Roberts' eyes were often closed in a vision of calm, book-ended by band mates Brett Anderson and Lucas Long, battling against their guitars. Anderson stepped to center stage for "Falling In", a sweet ballad that well-suited his higher, breathy voice, and even drummer Lennon Bone joined in on vocals. Pausing for a moment from the fun, Roberts admitted to watching the John Adams documentary to prepare for Boston, and that the group took in the "Freedom March" (a.k.a. Freedom Trail)…in succession, the later to which a group of girls next to me giggled, "We should tell them we'd give them a private tour." Ha Ha Tonka made me smile and lifted the weight of the world off my shoulders for a moment. Dishing up a superb life performance, Ha Ha Tonka is a group to keep an eye on.
After locating their drummer by plea of "If anyone's getting Phillip Dicky high, give it up and bring him to the stage" the headliner of the evening, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, continued to unmask their wit in response to shrieking feedback with "Can I get a little more Jamison in the drunk mic?" Although various instruments such as piano play a prominent part in the band's recorded output, tonight they were content with a traditional lineup of bass-drums-two guitars. Despite the lack of frills, SSLYBY definitely mastered the art of head-bobbing pop tunes and delicate "ba-ba-ba-dup" harmonies on this night. Songs such as the impossibly catchy "House Fire" featured melodies and progressions that had you slapping your forehead, thinking "why didn't I think of that?" Their songs gave the impression of being written either during a perfect summer's day or after a particularly devastating breakup. Maybe both. They may not have initiated the same sort of crowd interaction or dreamy captivation as the previous bands, but good luck finding SSLYBY and their charming songcraft at a venue this intimate a year from now.
