The 2008 release from The Ettes, Look At Life Again Soon, was receive with warm, open arms by many, and rightly so. Representing the subgenre of garage rock in every sense of the word, with every track you feel the sweat and smell of whiskey as it flows from the pores. The hollow echoes evoke a recording studio in a Brooklyn basement that doubles as storage for someone’s father’s cousin’s cleaning business. A bit dirty, a bit growly, but oh-so-good.
Tonight The Ettes arrived in Denver’s Larimer Lounge to kick out these gems live and in person – Coco on lead guitar and vocals, the vibrant Poni on drums, and Jem on bass.
But about three or four songs in, Jem took on the role of roadie/technician, having to restring Coco’s guitar. No big. Happens all the time. Coco took this opportunity to chat with the kids about this and that, and then the game was back on with “I Heard Tell,” which gave Poni yet another chance to shine behind her drum kit.
A few more songs in and Coco was handing her guitar to Jem once again, “It’s cold outside and it makes these strings just snap!”
As she sipped what I’m guessing to be a vodka tonic or soda, someone made a comment, which I’m imagined was in relation to her level of sobriety. “No, we haven’t gotten drunk since San Francisco. But we’re here, right?”
Yes, they did show up, but this start and stop and start threw the show off its rhythm. More than anything, it seemed apparent that the road had pulled the energy out of songs like “I Get Mine” and “The Girls Are Mad,” especially when Coco introduced the latter with a reference to Jem who was the sheriff and her and Poni as the outlaws in the group. My friend, whom I had told to come meet for the show, gave me the look like, “What the?”
All groups have their off nights, and I believe this was one of those nights for The Ettes. The group is set to hit Austin for SXSW in March and I plan to make it to at least one of their sets, mainly because I want to take a “look at life again” and confirm that the essence and talent I heard and loved on the album doesn’t only remain in the studio.
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www.theettes.com
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