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Words by Scott Brendel
Gomez :: 05.20.06 :: House of Blues :: San Diego, CA
"Gomez."
"Who?"
Gomez By Robb Cohen |
That's the standard reply I received from coworkers when asked who I was seeing in concert Saturday night. It's a shame too, because they missed one hell of a show.
Granted, I probably did a horrible job of explaining Gomez as a band, but they're not a band that's easily defined. How do you explain a band with three lead singers and five songwriters that whips together elements of Brit pop, blues, psychedelic, folk, electronica, and rock in the space of a single song?
You don't, and as I waited outside the House of Blues in downtown San Diego, I overheard a handful of people trying their best to explain the band to friends and passers-by. A solid decade since Brit pop breached the shores of the U.S., Gomez has distilled its musical cocktail of electro-blues-rock and brewed a devoted following that seems to grow with each tour.
Strolling on stage to big cheers and rapturous applause, the band quickly plugged in and launched into "Shot Shot" from 2002's In Our Gun. Where Gomez albums have always had a bright/crisp production sheen, live, the rougher edges are exposed, creating hypnotic riffs, colorful melodies, and pummeling rhythms that suck an audience in and leave it no choice but to surrender to the band's groove.
Olly Peacock By Robb Cohen |
New songs like "Notice" and "Girlshapelovedrug" off 2006's How We Operate got both the band and crowd going. Guitarist/vocalist Ian Ball furiously riffed from his Telecaster while drummer Olly Peacock kept time behind a drum kit that would have made Iron Maiden's Nicko McBrain smile.
Gravel-voiced vocalist/guitarist Ben Ottewell crooned the new album's title track and led the rest of Gomez into an extended jam that ripped open the band's dense sound and explored it layer by layer. Multi-instrumentalist Dajon Everett accented the song with an array of percussion, keeping the rhythm pulsing and varied as the band jammed.
The celebratory and communal feeling pioneered by 90's Brit pop bands like The Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses exuded from the stage all night. With the audience hugging the stage, keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Tom Gray stoked the crowd's fire with his endless well of enthusiasm and energy.
Ian Ball By Dorothy Markek |
Applauding the crowd and egging them on, Gray was the band's own Flavor Flav, keeping the energy high and flowing throughout the show. This exchange of energy between Gomez and the crowd seemed to bring out surprising song selections from the band's deep catalog. The silly rarity "The Cowboy Song" appeared out of nowhere and left the crowed smiling from ear to ear as they shouted the chorus.
All this energy and enthusiasm can't hide the bluesy Northern Soul of the band's three singers. Songs like "All Too Much" began quietly and plaintively until vocalist Ben Ottewell's voice soared to the rafters of the venue and the band followed him by unleashing a wave of instrumentation behind the chorus. Guitars crackled and slashed through the air as all three vocalists harmonized, imploring the crowd to "Tell us what's your secret / It seems to work every time."
Whatever that secret was, it worked overtime Saturday night as the band played a set that picked and chose from all their albums. Highlights included "Silence" and "Nothing is Wrong" from 2004's Split the Difference and a show-stopping performance of "Make No Sound" from their debut Bring It On.
Giving a much more focused performance than their previous stop at Belly Up Tavern a few years ago, Gomez converted more sun-drenched San Diegans to their cause with a set-ending performance of "Whipping Piccadilly," leaving the crowd hollering for more as the band exited the stage.
Writing recently on the band's blog, Ben Ottewell wondered if the army had an entertainment corps division the band could join. "Otherwise," he says, "we'd be fucked." No need to enlist Ben; Gomez is building its own army with shows like tonight's.
JamBase | San Diego
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