Concert Review Number 2: The Silos

Concert review
March 26, 2007
Off Broadway
The Silos


Soooooooo...lets talk about the venue first. Off Broadway has plane and simple, with the closing of Mississippi Nights been putting on the best shows for a longer time then any venue in St. louis. Always a little beat leaning to the twngy, affected KDHX crowd but thre is really nothing wrong with that. The venue was owned bt the same people for years and they were trying to sell it for years and finally someone bought it. The venue has been kept the same and books the same and looks the same other then losing a lot of the brick-a-brack that hung in the old place. The wagon wheel light still hands prominantly and dominates the room.

But this has always been a screwed up venue. The shows never start before 9 and it does not make any difference whether we are talking Saturday or Monday. That is tolerable even on a Monday but for the fact that they always have a local opening act, along with the opening act, before the main act and...well that is three bands and inevitably that means the band you really want to see never goes on before 11:00 and on a Monday...to start your week, that is just too damn late for daddy. It is another case where I am old and stupid enough that i want to write them a letter... to explain how right I am and how wrong they are...share my wisdom....what an idiot I am.

I don’t remember the name of the opening band. They were good and tuneful. They had a vocalist who souded like Jimmy Ryan of the Blood Oranges and a female singer who could of been in my wife’s family she looked so familiar. I would of been happy with them as the opener. Joe Dee graham was the real opener and the Silos had been touting him on their website for some time. Graham is a songwriter of some repute. Gruff and Waits like in his delivery, every line is heartfelt and fraught with meaning and well...just kind of exhausting. When he got up the crowd that was there to see him became hushed like in church and he strummed and moaned and sang a few songs solo and then he was joined by the Silos who generally had a good time. Walter Salas Hamara who leads the Siols played guitar and on one number even pounded the skins. It is apparent they have an affinity for one another and are enjoying touring together. He did not change my life.

After another small break and getting some air the Silos started their set. I had prepared a set list for them with some of the butcher paper on the bar and crayons. Unfortunately it was disregarded. Their new album, (reviewed earlier in the year on this space) is fine but it is short on the memorable hooks and riffs. Hamara is an amazingly great vocalist and seems to sing so easy. I am certain that he could sing the phone book or an American Equity Mortgage commercial and I would find it beautiful and deep. he just has a great mournful voice. Graham played guitar with the band and stayed in the background and his rhythm section tore it up nicely.

Interspersed with the new material he sang “Take Some Drugs and Drive Aorund”, “When the Telephone Rings” and a few others. The set was kind of uninspired and it was just sooooo late. Beatle Bob was there and I got my first pic of 07 so I have that going for me. Hamara does this brilliant thing where he has an acoustic guitar all rigged up to an effect box and he can play as loud or as soft as he wants and can really rip the cover off of it if he wants to. he has been shaking up the Alt-Country and rock scenes since 93 and his great CD “Cuba” but for my money...get “Susan Across the Ocean.” At his heart he is just a rock and roller but he has a love of poetry and song structure which reward you if you listen...but not tonight. Tonight ne played the new stuff and not much else...and...sadly and embarrassingly enough i left before the encore.
Over all it just was an uninspiring show, Mondays anywhere are tough. Monday nights in St. louis at 11:00 are stone losers and he did not bring enough to carry this one off. I will never hesitate to go see the guy but I didn’t get home till 1:00 and that.... just does not work. I will give it 6 1/2 Slingers on the 10 scale.

Album Review 7: The Silos "Come On Like The Fast Lane"

Walter Salas Humara started the Silos around 1985. Since that time he has released thre or four brilliant CD’s (”Cuba”, “Susan Across The Ocean”, “The Silos” and 2004’s “When The Telephone Rings”). For Cuba Rolling Stone voted the band the best new artist. The album “Cuba” along with Uncle Tupelos work did as much to shape the next 15 years of alt-country as anything. He has a substantial body of quality work. Before the Silos he was a Gainsville boy with his band The Vulgar Boatmen who put out some really fine music and he has had a side project called “The Setters” with Alejandro Escovedo, another favorite of mine. Here is what he Hamara says about Gainsville:

"It's where I spent my college years learning a lot and drinking a lot. It's a special place - a crossroads of Marxist dialectic and simple values and realities. I'm looking forward to the G”ville show and the kick-off of a tour that will take us through many of our old haunts and some fresh ground. We're super proud of the new album and thank our lucky stars it happened the way it did."

My biggest surprise was that the is no Wikipedia entry for the Silos or for Salas Humara. Perhaps that will be my project on another day. Anyway, as I said their last album was the semi-brilliant “When The Telephone Rings.” It was mournful and rocked my socks off so...I was disappointed by this album. The critics and the press releases all compare the album to Television and Velvet Undergorund with better pop lyrics. That is...generous.

It is on Bloodshot which is one of my favorite indie labels and they had a little release telling us what Humara thought the songs were about:
1. Behind Me Now
No time left to worry about what horrible consequences the narra-
tor’s actions have wrought on the ones he is about to leave behind.
He’s about to find out what’s on the other side.
2. Fall On Your Knees
Baby’s keeping you up the part of your night not devoted to the
big Rock Show? We all know life gets tougher the older we get,
so we save a little piece for our souls and hang onto it with all
our might.
3. Tell Me You Love Me
Ah, the travails of Modern Romance. Just tell me you love me.
4. I Won You Won
Breaking up will be good for both of us? Especially if there’s a
party going on and our remote control is tuned in.
5. Keeping Score
Time just a keeps on rollin’ along. There are no second chances.
Don’t be a fool. Be Here Now.
6. People Are Right
He’s leaving town. She steals his car. He later finds it with a note
attached. Just when he’s realizing the truth is always grey, he gets
the call ...
with us when we give up sane for crazy.
8. Top Of The World
So what if the baby can’t drive..... we can! Get behind the wheel
and just drive like hell. There’s nothing like it.
9. Days Gone By
There’s a lot of news, a lot of Talking Heads. It’s a endless stream.
A lot of things we have very little effect on. Sometimes we don’t
even have any control over our most intimate relationships. An-
other reason to Be Here Now.
10. Sunset Morning
Love is strange. Love is beautiful. Sit back and let it roll all over
you.
11. Never Leaving
When you find the right one, let yourself go and wallow in the best
thing that’s ever happened to you.
12. Out Of Our Way
There are many who will stop at nothing to get their way. Politics,
Religion, Economics - Is there any difference?
13. Kickass
You don’t need another man. You are kickass.

The bottom line is that the CD is very solid and for me was uninspired. With such a great body of work and so much talent it seems like it could almost be a throw away. It was recorded in 4 days. No fact about the Cd would have surprised me less. On a positive note there is not an unpleasant song on the CD and the more you listen to it the more it grows on you. It is simple straight ahead unaffected, non-poser rock. Parts of it are sweet. “Behind Me Now”, “Tell me You Love Me” and the title cut make it a worthwhile puchase no matter what. The 6th track, "People Are Right" has some sweet lap steel noodling that although not life changing...it works. This is hard for this Diner being a huge Silos fan. I like the CD but I am calling it non-essential and giving it 7 1/2 Slingers out of 10.

The Silos will be coming to “Off Broadway” soon. He puts on a great show always playing the same miked up acoustic guitar with a lot of effects that make it sound like whatever kind of guitar he wants it to be. It is a fun rock and rollshow and should not be missed.

All that having been said here is the quintessential iTunes composite of the Silos and Salas Humara and the Setters

1. Commodore Peter
2. Tennessee Fire
3. Change The Locks
4. Lets Go take Some Drugs (and drive around)
5. Mom Out Dancing
6. Shaking All Over The Place
7. Nothings Going To Last
8. I Want To Be Your Dog
9. Susan Across the Ocean
10. Evageline
11. When The Telephone Rings
12. My Big Car
13. The Only Love
14. About Her Steps
15. Cuba
16. Love Is A Beautiful Thing