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Woven Bones, elsewhere

Last night was a bit divisive, so here are two takes on the anticipated show:

Having been a fan of Woven Bones for almost a year now, I looked forward to tonight’s show at White Water as a rare highlight of my week. They’ve played in our city limits a few times for house shows and at Union, a promising, young local venue, but, due to pesky other obligations, this is the first time I’ve had the chance to catch the trio that occupied hours upon hours of my headphones at work and speakers in my car.

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Needless to say, the sound didn’t disappoint. Their minimalist slouch-rock tends to sound like the best of minimalist Krautrock, but diagnosed with A.D.D. They poured reverb on everything. Even the two piece drums. It was like farmer Walter’s kid and Atticus Finch’s syrup. But through it all, a bit of surfer-pop DNA showed through…and it kicked ass.

They seemed a bit tired for this, the first night of their new tour, but I’ll give them the shadow of a doubt: they’re road worn, in heavy demand after a flirtation from trendmaking blogs became a throttling group hug. That’s enough to make the most Zen turn a bit sour. A few people in the house were visibly turned off by their attitude, but, hell, they must have forgot about rock and roll.

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That aside, the three-piece hissed through a hugely fulfilling set list, hitting the entire “Minus Touch” EP and the high points of their celebrated debut album, “In and Out and Back Again.”

I left soon after, ears tingling, appreciative that our little “grown-up high school” had an exchange student for the night.

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-Appreciative John Tarpley

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