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| The Spyrals at Gold-Diggers |
I then looked through my photo archives and I have photos of only two bands from that night and I do believe one of those two bands is The Spyrals. I had to look through the 2013 Facebook posts from the band as the band members have changed over the years. Also, of interest, is that this band started in San Francisco and during that timeframe I spent a few monthly flying back and forth between San Francisco and Los Angeles due to real life work.
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| The Spyrals at Gold-Diggers |
On that specific night, Gliss was on the bill (via the flyers I saw on The Spyrals' Facebook page) and I do not have a link Gliss in that draft blog post nor any photos of the band. So did Gliss have to drop out at the last minute or did I somehow miss them due to showing up at the wrong time or did something else happen that night? Hmm, I also remember that around that time, The Fold (which was booking the Bootleg Theater at the time) decided to stop allowing photographers into the venue who didn't have a photo pass. So was this the night that I got escorted out of the venue? If this was the night, how did I get my camera into the venue in the first place? Well, the door guy knew who I was and let me in with my camera. I then got called out by the person working the bar and The Fold kicked me out. That may have resulted in me deciding not to do anything more than have a draft with band links so that I would know who I took pictures of. Of course, that still doesn't explain why I don't have a Gliss link. Hey, that was 11 years ago, I don't recall all the details.
For those who have never heard of the Bootleg Theater: it was a venue that thrived during those years. It had a few down years after The Fold and the Bootleg Theater parted company. Then Sid the Cat picked up the bookings and it thrived again. There was apparently some ownership disagreement that popped up (not related to Sid the Cat) when venues shut down and so the Bootleg Theater is no more.
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| Devon Ross at Gold-Diggers |
Back to Gold-Diggers: The Spyrals has a blues-rock sound. On guitar, harmonica, and lead vocals is the band's founder Jeff Lewis. Dare I say his vocals has a John Cougar Mellencamp influence? On keys is Georgia Feroce. Another side mention, during the time when venues were shut down, I saw a set of hers online. This band likes to jam out on certain riffs and the interplay between Lewis and drummer Dash Borinstein is key. An example of that is the song "Uh Huh." On the record, the song clocks in at just under 5 minutes, but the live version came in at 7 minutes as the band took on a riff as if they were trying to find just the right synergy between guitar and drums before moving on. It brough additional interpretation to the song. To end the set, Lewis spun his guitar body on the stage to cheers from the audience.
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| Devon Ross at Gold-Diggers |
Opening up the night was Devon Ross and Primitive Ring. I am a huge fan of Ross. One of my US Rocker Music articles was written because Devon Ross was playing on a particular night of Escape Artist Lovers' 2024 March residency at Zebulon. (I do love Escape Artist Lovers. I went to three of those residency nights.) In one way, Ross and The Spyrals are similar. They love to put catchy riffs on repeat. A example of this for Ross is the song "Swim." The riff played gives a hypnotic tone to the song, but only for a few repetitions. The riff gets taken up an octave and then Ross totally destroys it by taking a drum stick and scratching her guitar strings to turn the riff into a total chaotic interpretation. The song's frenzied moments perfectly fits the lyrics, "Just sing about your wife and the rain while I sit and withdraw. Well it’s a lonely little life when you’re controlled by another."
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| Primitive Ring at Gold-Diggers |
As for Primitive Ring, they were playing their first show ever. It didn't sound like it nor did it visually seem like it. Oh wait, the band consists of bassist Bert Hoover and drummer Jon Modaff. Both of them are from the bands Hooveriii and Groop. (Groop is the lesser known of the two. The band has a long term residency at Zebulon where the residency takes place once or twice a year.) On guitar is Charles Moothart who plays in the band GØGGS with Ty Segall. Maybe it was their first show as a band, but it wasn't the typical first show. The band opened the night with the sounds of hard rock metal. Their PR has this to say about the band, "A band of three individuals (ring) tapping in to their collective sound (ring) to form a solid bond (ring) in which to burn away superfluous modernity (ring)."
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| Primitive Ring at Gold-Diggers |
The Spyrals setlist: New War, Uh Huh, Dream Believin', Danger Us, Turns to Me, Eyes Filled with Gold, The Rain, Until All My Love Has Gone, Disguise, Lonely Eyes, What's Real
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