grandchildren, rad racket @ the hemlock; more bay area dates
Last night I saw two Philadelphia bands with shared members, Grandchildren and Rad Racket, at the Hemlock.
Grandchildren were up first. I’ve been liking their latest EP Cold Warrior and they started out with the frantic, but pleasingly melodic title track off of that. Their energy-filled set of melodic, experimental pop flew by and before I knew it they were done.
I really enjoyed it. For me they hit a sweet spot between the experimental and the accessible. I’d recommend seeing these guys.
Grandchildren – Cold Warrior (mp3)
The members reconfigured–the bass player of Grandchildren went to the drums, the drummer became the frontman, the guitarist stayed the same–a couple left the stage, a couple joined and Rad Racket, who I’d seen when they were called Red Rocket, was ready to go.
Rad Racket’s sound is more in line with mathy rock with punkish energy. They put on a tight and well-practiced set. Their sound is not quite as accessible as Grandchildren’s, but I’m sure that has some appeal to it as well.
Both bands have three more shows in the Bay Area (and one in Sacramento) before they head down SxSW. Tonight, they’re at the East Bay Rats Motocycle Club. Tomorrow they’re at Ghosttown Gallary in Oakland and after a show Tuesday in Sacramento, they return to the El Rio on Wednesday.
