August 29, 2010 8pm
The Summit
2210 Summit St.
(614) 268-9377
$5
co-presented by JackinthePocket.com and The SBB
The Spooks
http://www.thespooksband.com/
Not to be confused with hometown hip-hop/R&B crew of the same moniker, Fishtown’s The Spooks may be lost in time. Their unassailably lo-fi, surf-influenced sound is immersed in a fjord of nostalgic throwback reserves, flowing with reverb-heavy erratic guitars and granular subjacent vocals - or late ‘60s/early ’70s crossover garage rock as the kiddios say. But their fancy for this overtaxed genus is never tiresome - instead, it’s like you’re wearing a comfy, over-sized Blue Cheer t-shirt while watching Freaks and Geeks on your couch. You just know you were born three decades too late. - Annamarya Scaccia, The Deli
Spruce Campbells
http://www.myspace.com/thesprucecampbells
It all started with a few rough demos… Then it grew into a band… And the rest is up to the future.
The Woozies
http://www.myspace.com/thewoozies
Some band names imply a lot about what a band might sound like. Moondrones is one of those names. So when the spacey psych trio decided to retool its sound toward power-charged pop nuggets and bring in second singer Kelly Williams for near constant harmonizing with Tommy Clark, a change of nomenclature seemed in order.
Thus, the band that played Wild Goose Creative last Saturday was called The Woozies. After an evening of progressively more complex music courtesy of Bird and Flower, Old Hundred and visitors Jookabox, the Woozies snapped things back to simplicity through two-minute bursts of guitar pop.
Though Clark, bassist Rob Ottman and drummer Ryan Dyson comprise nothing more than a traditional power trio, they did a lot with those basic ingredients, shifting from Cramps-style punk to Yo La Tengo distortion swoons to off-kilter Pixies madness. The tunes were packaged in simple, snappy structures that wasted no time in reeling me in then veering to a halt before they had time to go stale.
For all the Woozies’ instrumental prowess, though, Williams was the band’s shoeless sparkplug. Her harmonies with Clark were crisp and emphatic, and her stage presence - that of a rubber bouncy ball careening off the walls and ceiling - was a welcome jolt.
See ‘em as soon as you can. - Chris DeVille, Columbus Alive