Seattle Subsonic

We’re Shotty, and we care about you and all that good stuff

February 10th, 2009

I like these guys, a lot.  It takes a lot of guts to even attempt to cover Santana’s ‘Soul Sacrifice’, and to successfully pull it off demonstrates the talent inherent in this band.  They put on a great 45-minute set last Sunday at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard, and they have a bunch of shows coming up in the Puget Sound area in the next two months.  You should at least check one of them out, if only to make your own classification of their musical style, which I can’t do, and you don’t have to either, so check them out if only to groove!

In all seriousness, it’s hard for me to compare Shotty’s sound to any other band I’ve heard, which makes it all the more fun to review them because I can be as creative as I want!  However, their performance style is influenced by the bubble-gum pop/rock bands of the 70’s.  With the lead singer Pat’s Peter Frampton style hairdo, and their shiny, butterfly-collard button-down shirts and vests, this is a band that definitely took some style tips from the Osmonds.   But hey, if that’s what it takes to give an entertaining performance with solid skills on their instruments, I’m all for it.

Sunday was the first time I’d seen (or even heard) Shotty, so I wasn’t familiar with any of the songs – I didn’t get a chance to check out their Myspace page beforehand.  The songs are very beat driven, with simple lyrics to back them up that almost reminded me of The Kinks (hey, that’s a good comparison!).   The songs gave each band member ample opportunity to showcase their talent on respective solos, and even to show off their dancing skills!  Garrett, the keyboardist in particular had an interesting style of balancing himself on a bucket while he played.  I didn’t really get how it influenced his playing, but it did get my attention.

The band move through their performance effortlessly, culminating with a solid cover of ‘Soul Sacrifice’, which being a favorite instrumental of mine was the perfect way to wrap up a good set.  Check out their Myspace page for upcoming shows – one in particular is on March 8 at the Columbia City Theatre, where they will be opening for VerleeRose.