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Scotland Yard Gospel Choir
The New Constitution
Kori sings...
...while Jason drums
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Before tonight, I was completely unfamiliar with the two opening acts. We made a point of getting to the show on time because I had to know what a band with the fantastic name The Scotland Yard Gospel Choir sounded like. The band's core is two singers, Matt Kerstein and Elia, who trade off guitar, keyboard and lead vocal duties, Ellen O'Hayer, who also sings, on cello and guitar and Sam Koentopp on drums. For the evening, they were joined by two trombonists/back up singers, a trumpet player and a bassist. From the moment they took the stage (wearing, for want of a better term, "dress clothes"), I gave them points for putting a living, breathing horn section on stage. If you hadn't guessed, the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir wear their Belle and Sebastian/'60s folk rock devotion on their sleeves. More importantly, they are good at it. Not afraid of the rave up finish or a lot of open enthusiasm, they were a pleasant kick-off for the evening's entertainment, walking a line between pretty pop music and the higher energy of a band like the Pogues. Drummer Koentopp deserves special attention; without him manning percussion, the Choir might be just another coffee house folk group. He's hyperactive without overpowering the other musicians, especially when he puts brushes to his kit.
I was ready to hate The New Constitution. The drummer had a precious hairdo, and the entire band seemed a bit too "indie rock" in their dress -- thrift store Army shirts, tight-fitting stripped tee and so forth. As they loaded their gear on stage, I had a flashback to the horrible, pompous Flashing Lights, whom I saw open for Sloan a few years back. Fuck me for judging a book by its cover, because The New Constitution are now hot shit in my book. Like the aforementioned Sloan, The New Constitution do rockier reworkings of Badfinger/Big Star/Hollies-style pop. Bassist Dan Brown and guitarist Mike Downey trade off lead vocals, throwing the duty back and forth across the stage from song to song. Brown's bass work was sublimely bouncy and rich, making a nice foundation for the vocal melodies and guitars. Lead guitarist Mike Marsden, dancing and playing across the center of the stage, worked quotes from The Who and Led Zeppelin into his performance (don't worry, they fit well with the band's songs. He wasn't just showing off). I found The New Constitution's high energy rock to be brilliant fun.
I knew nothing of Mates of State 'til a couple of years ago, when they toured with Beulah, but I don't get out much. Their newest release, Team Boo, has been in weekly, often daily rotation in my stereo since I bought it last fall. The same can be said of 2002's Our Constant Concern. Mates of State are the bee's knees to me. For those unfamiliar with the band, the best analogy I can offer is jawbreaker candies. Not everyone likes jawbreakers, but those who do really get into them, even though you have to work at a jawbreaker to get the sweet reward.
Editor's note: Dude, that's got to be the worst analogy ever. You're basically saying that if you're willing to put up with a lot of sucking, you'll earn a tiny reward. Way to sell the dream.
Mates of State play an abstract brand of pop music in which keyboard lines, drum beats and harmonies bend in, over and under each other. If you like a healthy dose of contortion in your pop, Mates of State are premium. Opening with a trio of songs from Team Boo, including "Ha Ha" and "I Got This Feeling", the Mates were all go. Jason Hammel excels on the drums; his playing is full of intricate patterns and fills that cover the middles of the songs, even as he provides a steady dance beat with the kick drum. Kori Gardner, on organ, provides both the melodies and the rhythmic floor that would otherwise be supplied by a bassist; indeed, she often plays both parts at the same time. Though Gardner's voice is more upfront, Mates of State's songs would not be what they are without the back-and-forth interplay and blending of both musicians' voices. In songs like "Hoarding It For Home" or "Gotta Get a Problem", the two start off singing together, break off into separate lyric lines, then come back together. The interaction is a marvelous thing to experience first hand.
The band and the audience got a good laugh mid-set as a guy desperately begged the band to play "that Uber song" ("Uber Legitimate" from Our Constant Concern). They were unable to fulfill his request, though; "We didn't learn that one again before going on tour," they claimed. Fortunately, they did play "The Kissaway", whose "bum, bum, bump" vocal harmony intro and wonderful bridge make it one of Team Boo's highlights.
The duo wrapped up the show with a cover of "Starman". As played, the song was recognizable, but could have passed for a Mates composition; Gardner and Hammel delivered it with their patented mix of calliope-esque keyboard and puzzle pattern drums.
If you're hedging on catching Mates of State this tour, don't. Gardner looks to be about six months pregnant, so it might be a while before they hit the road again after this tour ends.
Article and photos by Jason Broccardo.
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