Affected

For the third week in a row, I’m hanging at the God Rock Cafe. Funny enough, the other Seattle area venues either aren’t featuring artists worth the drive or artists I can’t film (hardcore is too loud for the camera mic). I’ve got to hand it to them for finding quality Christian entertainment; Now, If they could only get Garage Voice in the queue.

Anyways, this week was another birthday party and Affected was the birthday girl’s favorite band. There was cake and, once again, a great selection of catered food; The God Rock Cafe really has been working on their menu and the improvements are quite tasty. And this past week, the God Rock Cafe provided a good selection from the Seattle entertainment menu. Affected, one of the God Rock staff’s favorite bands, put on a well-polished show for the party.

To begin with, the vocals were solid. Rather than being laced with eclectic metaphors and screaming crescendo endings (which is typical of the experimental rock bands), Affected has chosen a more straight forward approach. Each line speaks from the heart and mind of someone truly concerned for those around them. You’re not going to spend hours attempting to figure them out, but when you need encouraging, they may just do the job.

Of course, there’s more than just encouraging lyrics to Affected. Their melodic rock sound is well practiced and definitely better than average.; The chemistry between the brothers that make up the band is very visible. Aside from the fact that many of their songs seemed to follow the same motif (they seemed to rely on the same melody in differing forms), the tunes showed a definite understanding of harmony and the hard rock genre. Each piece stayed clearly within the lines drawn by the genre they’ve chosen to pursue.You won’t get many surprises with this band.

As for their stage presence, Affected once again displays what you’d expect. From their clothing choices to their performance style, it’s an entertaining show you can enjoy when you’re not looking for a flashback to the 70’s guitar rock era. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a “bland” performance; They are fun to watch and listen to … they’re just not going to challenge your musical tastes.

Here’s what I’d say: if they’re playing around town and the price isn’t too steep, they’ll provide some good entertainment for you and your friends.

I’ve posted 4 songs to show the width and breath of their performance. Enjoy!

- SeattleChristianMusic.com