The Earlies were a band recommended to me at SXSW 2005. My hectic schedule caused me to miss them and so, at last, they finally started their first US tour, which I was not going to miss. I was glad I made the 6 hour round trip to catch them in Phoenix this past week. Modified Arts is a small art gallery/performance art space south of downtown. It reminded me of Rubber Gloves Rehearsal studio in Denton, Texas. A very small venue bringing in excellent music ranging from the Go Team with Mutemath, The Lashes and Xiu Xiu.
I arrived at the venue as the band sat in their bus/van waiting for the staff to arrive to let them load-in. Very friendly chaps from England along with a Texan, Brandon, formerly of the Danes. He saw my MossEisley t-shirt and we hit it off right away. The staff arrived and we all headed in. The show was intimate and straightforward. Playing material from the stateside release These Were the Earlies on Secretly Canadian. I like this band because of the 60’s influence particularly the keyboards. King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Alan Parsons Project come to mind. The vocal harmonies are Pet Sounds era Beach Boys and It’s a Beautiful Day. Brandon’s leads are beautiful in their own right. The band members are very talented most playing several instruments, from guitar to horns. Throw in a cello for its passion and you come away pondering are they the next Arcade Fire? A mellower Mars Volta? The band has some excellent collectible merch. I got my hands on a copy of the import album from the 679 label which features a fantastic booklet of artwork by Rina Donnersmark. Of course the band signed my copy. I also got my hands on two different posters that advertised the show.
Opening the show were two local bands; This Traveling Will and Dust Jacket. Both quality acts. Dust Jacket reminded me of Bright Eyes and This Traveling Will of a modernized Gordon Lightfoot/Bob Dylan. The Earlies were featured on KCRW’s The Morning Eclectic hosted by Nic Harcourt. Hope you caught them at The Echo in LA. The Earlies are onward to SF, Portland and Seattle before heading back across the northern half of the US. My next project is looking like Simon Dawes so stay tuned as they have just been tapped for an important opening slot.
