Lo-Fi Chorus, Bridges and Blinking Lights, Tall, Paul Slavens

On a Denton-filled night at Lowest Greenville’s Cavern, the welcoming committee must’ve skipped town. The double-booked show forced three out-of-town bands to cut their sets to ridiculously short times, and equipment trouble was so bad that Erik Thompson, lead singer of headliner Lo-Fi Chorus, was continually shocked by his microphone. Other problems with the Cavern’s sound system prompted his bandmates to leave the stage early in frustration–drummer Erik Issacmen kicked his drum set over and split–but Thompson kept the show rolling by stealing bassist Chad Walls’ sock and using it to cover his electric mike. Lo-Fi’s love for ’80s Brit-pop stood out with catchy new songs “Record Player” and “Billions of People,” while the crescendo at the end of the otherwise-mellow “Cannonball” breathed new life into an older tune.

Despite playing only five songs, fellow Dentonites Bridges and Blinking Lights used their short set time to present a fierce set of taut, bouncy indie-pop. “Halfway Home” delivered a head-bobbingly sweet bass line, and an untitled new song showcased the charmingly unhinged vocals of singer-guitarist Jake Wilganowski.

In what must have been a booking mix-up, Dave Matthews-esque Dallas band Tall interrupted the Denton showcase with a remarkable lack of substance and originality. They provided quite a letdown after the quirky piano ditties of opener and Denton man-about-town Paul Slavens. Every song he played was improvised and based on fake titles made up by the audience; my personal favorite was the first of three versions of “Your Mama Wears Lederhosen.”

Unfortunately, the music was overshadowed by a nasty incident after the concert–two thugs attacked me when I walked to my car on a nearby side street. Several bumps and one black eye (my girlfriend’s!) later, I decided to write off shows on Lowest Greenville in the near future. Thankfully, there’s always Denton.