REIGNING SOUND/LIONS
Emo's, Austin, Texas
10/28/2005

To avoid duplicating the Detroit Cobras review already posted on this site, I focused instead on the two bands which immediately preceded the fearsome Motor City garage combo on this thoroughly pleasant late October night. The crowd at Emo's was fairly well dispersed throughout the opening bands, especially with no band on the club's indoor stage and the weather nice enough to keep the central beer garden area full of minglers. Also with it being Halloween weekend, there were plenty of people in costume, some of whom who may have actually been dressed in their normal weekend attire but who could squeeze under the Halloween banner with a little extra effort.

After an opening set by Dallas' This Damn Town, rising local outfit Lions took the stage. Against a backdrop of film clips which also prominently hosted this especially hairy band's shadows, Lions plowed through a set heavy on power and Big Muff distortion. Fronted by hyperactive guitarist Matt Drenik, who along with drummer Jake Perlman were previously members of local contenders The Good Looks (who disbanded in the midst of a summer tour), this four-piece alternated between plodding, mesmerizing Sabbath-esque sludgy grooves and more propulsive moments that had more in common with Motorhead or Fu Manchu. Lions sound fits somewhere in between several different genres (too heavy to be psychedelic; too spacey for metal) and on this night a lot of the growing crowd seemed to scatter from the throbbing sound emanating from the stage, but those who stayed reacted viscerally at the end of each long song. Put this band in a less spacious club where the crowd has no easy way out and the lights can be turned off to enhance the backdrop, and the only things missing from a mind-blowing experience are psychotropic substances and a set by Acid Mothers Temple to follow. Lions may not be in full command of their musical vision, but what they have come up with in the band's first four months certainly warrants further attention.

As for Reigning Sound, singer/guitarist Greg Cartwright has been on the leading edge of the garage realm since his time with the Oblivians during the 90's. Reigning Sound has opened tours for the Hives and Cartwright has produced records for the Detroit Cobras among others. On this night, he gamely led his power trio through a set of chugging songs full of pop and punch, although it seemed as though the rhythm section was having a hard time keeping up with both his energy and chops. The rather muddy sound didn't help matters, but Cartwright still threw himself into the show and held the crowd's attention. With the accolades that the band's records have received (the most recent is the just-released Home for Orphans on Sympathy for the Record Industry), it's not hard to give Cartwright a mulligan for this workmanlike but unspectacular show. (Andy Smith)