Undone

Posted on 3/2/2006 12:00 AM
Last Saturday night, Luther students were treated to a rock show in Marty's featuring Undone and Dropping Daylight, two up-and-coming bands from Minneapolis.

Headliners Dropping Daylight are no strangers to the Marty's stage. They played at Luther two years ago under the name Sue Generis.

With a major label debut record imminent, the original name was dropped upon the discovery of a long-established and popular Argentinean band with the same moniker.

The band's first break came at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, where they played a show and were soon signed by Octone Records.


The new name and record deal are not the only changes Dropping Daylight has dealt with lately: A "You Hear It First" segment that aired on MTV last August gave the band national exposure and consequently placed them on a short list of "buzz bands."

Sebastian Davin, the band's front man and keyboardist, believes their recent explosion has a lot to do with their newly- conceived sound, which has been developing since the band's formation in 2001.

"We were a college band, but we saw ourselves going in a new direction," Davin said.

"We've always wanted to be a piano-fronted rock band, but needed to find out how to execute that," said Seth Davin, Sebastian's younger brother and guitarist in the band.

Dropping Daylight recorded and released two EPs — "Back to Nowhere" and "Take a Photograph." Their major label debut will be released in April and will coincide with a national tour that includes a stint on this summer's Warped Tour.

Dropping Daylight shared the stage with friends of a friend Undone. Saturday was Undone's first performance at Luther College.

Undone formed last February and has achieved a large hometown fan-base despite their relatively brief existence.

Much of their success can be accredited to the members' previous band experience: Lead singer K.B. Isaacson and guitarist Steve Widel have been playing together for 11 years. Bassist Mike Trumble and drummer Will Wilson have years of experience between them as well.

The conglomeration of their experiences is what drives Undone.

"We all had the passion to do what we wanted to do," Isaacson said. "But just not the right group to do it with until now."

Self-described as "rock with modern funk," Undone has focused on playing shows in the Minneapolis area and developing their own sound.

Apparently their brand of sound is working — the band won a preliminary round in the Emergenza Music Festival, an international battle of the bands competition in which 12,000 bands participate.

Undone will be recording their first studio LP by the end of June and will follow up with a tour.

Fans were already lining up outside Marty's an hour before the show began. There were many complaints about losing good seats when Marty's was emptied so members of the Student Activities Council could begin selling tickets.

"Dropping Daylight has a following within the Luther community," Dan Milis ('06), one of the SAC Spotlight co-chairs, said.

Show attendance reached 300. Though Marty's did not reach capacity, the crowd was tuned into the show, and a large group of fans gathered on the floor in front of the stage for both bands.


Undone opened the show with several high-energy rock songs that were tinged with Trumble's funk-inspired bass lines. Crowd favorites included "Mary Jane," a song built off of an infectious bluesy guitar riff and the band's namesake, "Undone."

When Dropping Daylight took the stage, the anticipation in Marty's reached its pinnacle. The band matched this energy and played a strong set featuring several songs from their latest EP. Guitarist Seth Davin gave an especially energized performance, breaking three guitar strings and providing well-blended back-up vocals for his brother.

Sebastian Davin's virtuoso piano licks matched with the more straightforward rock style of the guitar and bass made for some very textured music.

After the first set, Sebastian Davin explained that the band was playing with a new drummer who had only rehearsed with them for two days, but complimented the new band-mate on his already advanced skills behind the kit.

The night ended with the Davin brothers taking the stage without their bassist and drummer to perform mellower songs. A few were old favorites from the band's Sue Generis days.

- Jeff Bozeman