SPF4 @ Club Car, Worcester, January 15 2005

I was surprised to hear that a surf instrumental band had formed in the Worcester area. Usually to hear some good Surf music one has to venture into Boston or beyond. Oddly enough there was a big surf show going on in Somerville on the very night of this show. I chose to stay in Worcester and check out SPF4 (Sun Protection Factor 4).
I had never been to Club Car before. Unfortunately there were TV's playing football in every corner and I was worried that they would be a distraction to the live music.
It's definitely the Keno-Sports kinda hangout. I was surprised that the stage was squished in the corner when there was an entire other room that would make a great music hall. Anyway, as I got my flat Guinness and sat down at a table with my party, I glanced at the band equipment. Seeing some sparkly Rogers drums and a nice lineup of Fender guitars, I felt a sense of relief. These were the tools of the true Surf obsessed musician.
The band started and the TV's went on mute. The band was wearing matching shirts, which I think is a smart look for any bands doing any kind of retro thing. They actually looked like diving wetsuits. Maybe they were custom made. About halfway through the first song, one of the Guitarists broke a string. He was playing a DeArmond guitar w/a Bigsby tremolo on it. Knowing myself what a pain it is to switch out strings on these I wasn't surprised to see him grab a Fender Jazzmaster. The same guitarist also played a Strat part-way through the set, but wen't back to the JM later on. The other Guitarist played a Fender Jaguar most of the time and also switched it out with a Strat. I couldn't make out the bass players first guitar but he switched with a Fender P-Bass into the set as well.It was interesting to hear the contrast between the Jaguar and Jazzmaster guitars.
The first thing that hit me about these guys is how much they sounded like the Ventures.They just seemed to have that tone. I don't think either of the guitarists were using separate reverb tank units, so things didn't get too soupy. They had a good clean sound with just a little garage-y bite. They did two sets of cover songs. I talked to a couple of the band members (Sorry I'm bad with names) and found out that they were doing all covers this time and would be bringing out their originals at their next gig. Actually it was a real treat to hear so many instrumental covers. I should of grabbed a set-list, but a few I remember are: Miserlou, Surf Rider, Out of Limits, Sleepwalk, the Lonely Bull, Penetration, Walk don't Run, Diamond Head and Rebel Rouser. I think the highlight of the evening for me was hearing Santo and Johnnies "Sleepwalk". I have never heard this one done live before.
Overall these guys had their stuff down tight and I look forward to seeing them again. They were all good musicians. (That surf staccato picking ain't easy ya know). Both guitarists traded off on rhythm and lead, the bass and drums were solid and the occasional announcement on the megaphone was a nice touch.
Oh yeah, after multiple requests by the locals, they even did "Wipeout".


Xposted on Volcanoboy.com

Wow!! Thanks for the review, MV!!!

And many thanks for trekking down to Water St for the show - we know it was slightly off the map, but when i checked the place out a few months ago I had a feeling it'd be a fun venue.... and we will certainly be going back there in the future! Hopefully that place will become another good venue for bands..... they do not have a door charge (yet?) so at this point they are giving the bands guaranteed $$ (which was not bad even though it was our first gig there).... if anyone wants to PM me I can send along the info.... i think it's a certain 'style' of club though.... roots, jam, blues, surf and cover bands, etc seem like they would be the best fit for the crowd... I do not think any hardcore/metal/hip hop bands would go over too well there though.

Yep we could have played that back room, but all of us felt that the front room would be better because it was a bit more intimate, and also because we got the feeling if we moved into the back that we'd be playing to a virtually empty room (ya can't get away if the band is in the room where you need to go to get your drinks! hahaha!)

Next time we play there though.... who knows?

I also want to thank Jason James at this point for playing our '4 song live' demo CD on his Thursday morning show.... some of the people there that night came to the show specifically because they heard Jason play us -- so there ya go -- THE POWER OF RADIO!!

I guess we are at Ralph's on Fri, Feb 4th though we are not listed on the Ralph's website...... I talked to Vincent and he assured me that we are there along with Joe Mazzari Band, Blitzkreig Bliss, and BabyStrange ...... I have no idea what the order is at this time but i'll post a flyer on WTDO in a couple weeks.

Again - thanks to Mikey Villain and everyone else who came down!!

PS - I should also mention the Club Car looks like it's going to be giving Ralph's a run for it's money on their burgers - the bacon burger I had before the show was HUGE (and cooked, unlike the ones you sometimes get from Richie, haha)


T

wish I could've made it, by the sounds of the "entire other room" they weren't using, it is in fact the building we were looking at for a venue... catch ya next time.

oops - i was mistaken.... SPF4 is at Ralph's MARCH 4th, not Feb 4th......