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Push/ King of Prussia, 40 Watt, 7/27/06

by The Bridge
08/10/2006

So a coupla weeks ago I caught Push and King of Prussia at the 40 Watt, thinking I'd write a review for this here rag. As you may have noticed, we were not exactly online a couple of weeks ago. so I decided to take the opportunity to be uber-slack and didn't bother to make any notes about it whatsoever. But these are two decent newish bands that deserve a cyber-holler, so bear with me while I try to reconstruct the events of that night.

I was actually more interested in seeing King of Prussia, as I had heard a demo recently and thought it to be great stuff. And it is, but their live show needs a bit of work. Nothing drastic - it's just that these songs are very singer-songwriter, very neo-folk, and that calls for a little extra oomph in the delivery if you expect to hold an audience's attention for a full set. I found myself spacing out a lot and reflecting on the fact that my feet hurt. It could have been a case of musician overload - there were a lot of folks onstage, and at times the mix seemed awfully muddy and the numerous players a bit superfluous, as all I could really hear was guitar, percussion and vocals. The front man, however, seemed quite comfortable with stage patter, making amusing quips and sounding perfectly at home conversing with a room full of people. That comfort and confidence will hopefully soon extend to his song delivery.

Push, on the other hand, was a pretty paired down experience - a basic three piece, if I'm remembering correctly, guitar, drums, bass. (Of course, I have a memory like a sieve. There coulda been someone else up there, but I really don't think so.) The frontman was a stone-faced lass (Lauren Osbourne) with a voice to match: somber and richly toned, the kind of alto that could probably do just fine without a microphone. The songs had a very Pretenders-esque kind of jangle, but without that light, easy presentation. Despite her lack of facial expression, Osbourne gave most of her songs a generous amount of drama, leaning on her powerful pipes perhaps just a tad too much. A later discussion with a friend revealed that we both were reminded of Johnette Napolitano, which, if you are guilty (as I am) of a Concrete Blonde affection, you realize is both a good and bad thing. Overall: a solid, hard working band, with room to grow. Let's hope that the moniker "Push" is indicative of the fact that they intend to.