Wednesday was the Stranger Dance presented show at the Rickshaw Stop with French Miami, By Sunlight (myspace) and Silian Rail. With two of my favorite local bands and a third band from Seattle, I was looking forward to this show.

I got there shortly before Silian Rail went on. With an amalgam of images projected on the screen behind them, Robin (guitar) and Eric (drums, guitar, bass pedals, glockenspiel) put together a compelling set of old and new songs. Trying out a lot of new material during the set–which Eric later told me is almost a whole album’s worth–the audience wasn’t familiar with the songs but they were into it anyway. “Drunken Boat” and some of the other old songs were still my favorites, but a solid set all around.

By Sunlight were up next. They put together a number of elements I like–interest vocals, harmonic structures and instrumentation–but the end result wasn’t engaging for me.

Finally, French Miami closed out the show. I’ve said it before, but it always strikes me that their angular, sometimes dancey music–which I often don’t like–is so compelling. Melodic riffs and heavy synths combined with sometimes shouted vocals to make some great songs. They also rock hard. I’ll echo SD’s recommendation that you see them live.

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 9:19 pm Posted by adrian in SF bay area, live review, photos. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.