The Tallest

These days it seems like there are so many whiney songwriters and bands out there, it's a welcomed relief to actually go to a live act that can actually rock. This past Friday a band known as The Tallest put on a rock 'n' roll show. There were no pyrotechnics, there weren't lighters being lit; there was only rock and roll music.

Opening their set with "Changing Weena's Mood," The Tallest quickly set the tone of the evening. Having heard some raw tracks from the soon to be released album "The Future Burns the Sun," I had an idea of what their sound consisted of. But nothing can compare to hearing a band live. That's just pretty much a fact. And The Tallest do their part to keep live music a good time. No phony stage presence, no trite stories to the crowd, just a bassist in sequins, a cape, and red, foamy shin-guards: Johnny Xybot; a guitarist in an oversized sportcoat with elbow pads: Sherman Yorkshire; a lead singer in a sweater vest with a sweet voice : Atom Plasma (Atom had the sweet voice, not the sweater vest); and one of the best drummers I've seen live in a long time, Al, he's from Brazil.

Something tells me that these aren't their real names. Well, except for Al.

The set list for the show was well crafted, each song lending itself to the next. Of course, I'm not entirely sure what that means. But their set list consisted of:

Changing Weena's Mood
Can I Borrow a Feeling?
On a Rainy Day
Settle Down
Skeletons
Bullet Bill
Tranquilizer
When I Am King
Battle of Olympus
Back to the Sea
Only In Dreams

"Only In Dreams," of course, is a cover of the Weezer song. They don't necessarily resemble Weezer as far as their sound goes, but they can cover Weezer about as well as Rivers Cuomo can.

Rather than go on and on about how good they were, I'll just end this by saying that they were really, really good. They're four guys having a good time on stage, and that absolutely transfers into the crowd who can't help but have a good time. Plus it really helps that they're talented and their songs don't suck.

Check their website for future tour dates. They'll be heading out to the West coast in a couple weeks, so if you're gonna be in Vegas for April Fools Day, go see them. No joke.

Last but not least, check out guitarist Sherman's weekly post on The Tallest site. He shares a well-written, educated, and very funny opinion on various things that are on his mind. It's absolutely worth reading, as The Tallest are absolutely worth seeing. - Negative Waves E-Zine