Love The Cup (or How The Rosebuds Stole My Seat at Sound Fix)

Sons and Daughters & The Rosebuds @ North Six 10/8/05 and Sons & Daughters @ Sound Fix (also 10/8/05)

Yes ladies and gentlemen. You read that correctly. Not just one, but 2 Sons and Daughters shows on one very rainy day. First up was the in-store at 4 PM, which was held at Sound Fix, one of my favorite record stores in the entire area. They played for about 30 minutes and were really tight, focusing on material from the just released and excellent full-length The Repulsion Box along with "Johnny Cash" from their ep Love the Cup.

Something really funny happened while they were playing, though. Right before they went on, I went to get some coffee and snacks for Anne, who held down the fort (i.e. our seats up front) or so I thought. As it turns out, 2 of the members of The Rosebuds, who we would see later on that night at North Six (more below), stole my seat. Well that wasn't exactly true. Truth be told, there was enough room for both of them as well as me and Anne, but they still stole my seat. I wasn't mad or anything, though, in case you're wondering. It was just funny because after Sons and Daughters had finished playing, I told Anne that we should go see them later on that night because I'd really enjoyed the short set and I also knew that she liked The Rosebuds and when I mentioned them, she said that they were sitting right there and she told me to be quiet since she didn't wanna embarass them. Up to that point, I had absolutely no idea what they looked like and that they'd taken my seat, so that was pretty funny.

By the time we got to North Six, we'd missed the opening band Eiffel Tower and there was so much rain on the BQE as we were driving that part of it was a bit flooded (though we were able to get through it ok) and visibility was low. By the time we got there and entered the venue, we were just happy to be in a dry place. Luckily, it was just in time for The Rosebuds' set. I'd never heard them before and fortunately they were awesome. They were like a mixture of late '80s/early '90s indie rock with flashes of rockabilly and roots music. They have no bass player, just an adorable husband/wife duo on guitar/vocals and keyboards, respectively, as well as an awesome drummer. At times they reminded me of everything from Sonic Youth to The Flat Duo Jets and if you can imagine a poppier crossroads between the two, then you'll have some idea of what they're like.

And then Sons and Daughters came on and despite numerous technical difficulties throughout their set having to do with the bass amp being broken, they still put on a spirited set that lasted for about an hour and though I'd just seen them hours before, I really like the new album and it was a joy to hear them run through most of it along with more older material from Love the Cup. They've definitely improved a bit since I last saw them open for Franz Ferdinand at Webster Hall last year. Their sound is unique as well. They take a healthy '50s rockabilly/Bo Diddley-beat obsessed guitarist/backing vocalist (Scott) and add lead vocalist Adele, who at times can wail like Poly Styrene from The X-Ray Spex, and the mix of their harmonies at times resembles Exene Cervenka and John Doe's harmonies in X. Throw in some Franz Ferdinand-like post-punk, an old-school country-like preoccupation with death in their lyrics and melodies that at times recall Irish greats like The Pogues and you only hint at the sound of this unique band.

PREVIOUSLY: The Trashcan Sinatras played an in-store at Sound Fix back in April along with some other show reviews in that same post.