The Devereauxs

Show Date: 5/23/09

Bill: GGATSA, The Slow Burners and The Devereaux

Saturday night at the Boiler Room was just one of those nights that seemed a little bit off center. Part of the reason was no doubt the weather. It was one of those drab and rainy evenings, with a load of heavy and sticky air dumped over the region. This, I am sure, had something to do with the small crowd. Oh yea, and the fact that this towns population recently dropped a significant amount ever since finals ended. Add to this, the fact that both the opening band as well as the headliners were shorthanded and you get the recipe for a potential disaster.

However, all things considered, it was a pretty fun night. The folks who did make it out to the show (and there were plenty of them) were in a great mood, and by the looks of it, so were the bands. The Slow Burners kicked things off with a shorter set than I would have liked but, as always, they killed it. I really like this band, whose name could not fit them more perfectly. George Neal's vocal work is outstanding and his stage presence isn't bad either. Evident by him hollering "fuck you, and you...ok well not you, you're okay, but you in the back, yeah fuck you!" All in jest and good fun of course. And the guitar playing of Ryan Thomas Becker is extraordinary. All in all, they were great.

But the surprise of the night for me was the second band on stage. The Devereauxs. They are a very young and talented group of dudes who you might expect to see getting harassed by some cop for skateboarding behind a Wal-Mart somewhere. But these kids can flat out play. They pull off a mixture of old school southern rock, with a hint of pop-punk (leaning towards the former.) I was thoroughly impressed by these guys.

Even more so when Lucas Albano and Blake Bruns stepped in and helped out with the headliners performance. Goodness Gracious and the Sakes Alive put on a hell of a show considering the circumstances. They were very shorthanded and playing with guys who only had a single practice session to get ready for the show, so it all had a sort of jam bandish feel to it. But they did an outstanding job with what they had. I know I got a distorted view of what this band really sounds like live, but if it is anything close to what I am imagining after Saturday's performance, then these guys have a bright future. Hell, even if they sound EXACTLY like they sounded on Saturday night i would go see them again. The bottom line, it was a fun show to be at. The band looked like they were having a great time, as did the audience. Not bad for a muggy, rain soaked evening in Denton. - MyDentonMusic Writer Josh Hogan