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Mates of State, 40 Watt, 3/27/06

by The Bridge
04/12/2006

All right, all right. So I made this comment in my review of the recent Metric show at the 40 Watt about how good the sound is at said club. This provoked a how-dumb-are-you reaction on the comments board from some guy who professed that the exact opposite is generally true. Then last week I was stuck in between two of my band-nerd guy friends, listening listlessly as they jawed on and on about the inner workings of different kinds of amps, or something, when suddenly the conversation veered, for no apparent reason, away from personal equipment and over to personal disgust at local clubs' sound systems. I went to the recent Mates of State show, and sat at a table during Maria Taylor's set listening to my friends talk about how much the sound sucked. And it did.

So okay, okay, I'm not the most technically informed person when in comes to sound systems, and my ear may not be as fine as some. But it did sound good for Metric, I swear it did.

At any rate, Maria Taylor's set was confounding. Fellow former Athenian Alan Tanner was presumably playing guitar, but I could not for the life of me discern it in the mix. A shame - his old band, Your American Math, was purdy darned good, and I was looking forward to hearing him.

Taylor herself has a lovely, dovey voice, and a knack for pop hooks. But I just can't get into her solo. In fact, I have a hard time getting into Azure Ray, the lush, coo-core group that is primarily her and Oreanda Fink, both formerly of Little Red Rocket. They make beautiful sounds together, and Taylor's solo stuff is melodic and well-crafted. But I can't let go of how great those girlie harmonies sounded over the pop-fueled motor of Little Red Rocket's driving beats. It's probably just a familiarity thing - once I get used to it, I will realize that Azure Ray is awesome. As for Taylor, while her songs certainly sound self-assured, there were too many vanilla moments in the set for my liking. She's just too pretty, bordering dangerously close to a Sarah MacLachlan sensibility. I want a little more edge.

I would have to be made of stone, however, to deny the infectious quality of her rousing closing song, the dare-ya-not-to-sing ode to joy, "Start the Love Song." Towards the end, an attractive, white-haired gent with a goatee sprang onstage, seemingly out of nowhere, and played a few exuberant bars on the keyboard. "My father," Taylor announced before embracing him. Very sweet. (No matter how many times I erase, reword, and retype that, it still looks sarcastic. I really thought it was sweet. Is there an emoticon that means "I'm not trying to be cynical here?")

I'd like to begin the review of Mates of State by relating a little coincidence. I waited on the band for dinner just hours before the show - and this is the second time this has happened, the first time being the Posies, to whom I served Indian food prior to their gig at the Tasty World. At least this time I recognized them, which is funny, because I'd never really bought an album of theirs or anything, and I'm a huge Posies fan. Maybe it had something to do with the dude sitting at their table, talking on his cell phone, who said "I'm on tour with the Mates of State" while I was refilling their drinks. At any rate, they were very nice, despite the fact that I initially forgot about their table for ten minutes, and they left a good tip, so I'm giving them a good review.

They took the stage fairly soon after Taylor's set was finished and dove straight into the tunes, burning through each one crisply, but never coolly. It was my first time seeing them play, and I was really taken aback by just how full they sound. Drums, keys, and two voices, and there didn't seem to be an empty space anywhere in the songs. And the shit is danceable. I mean, honestly, I would have a more detailed review if I hadn't been so busy hopping around. During the break between sets, I expressed surprise to see the editor of this very paper in attendance, as he doesn't go to too many shows. "Mates of State make me feel good about the world," he said. Which I thought was a mega-gay thing to say. But ten minutes later, hopping around like a bunny rabbit with a distressed bladder, I knew what he meant. Their songs have a degree of joy in them that borders on mania, and at times dives right into it, and that's what gives them their edge and their tenderness. It's the sound of two people wrapped up in a moment so tightly that they have actually lost their capacity for fear. And I would have said that even if they were bad tippers. (By the way, she's allergic to garlic. How tragic is that? I cannot fathom life without garlic.)