The Buddha Den Presents: Toads and Mice/Flotation Walls/Hospital Garden @ Canal Street Tavern 8.1.08

...on a muggy evening that continually threatened precipitation, The Buddha Den Presents offered up its first bill at the Dayton musical institution that is Canal Street Tavern. On this night, up-and-comers Hospital Garden kicked things off with an incredibly passionate set of blistering rock n' roll. Each time we see this outfit, it seems as if their rhythm section tightens down one more notch, allowing guitarist/vocalist Lucas to further indulge his whims to slather the band's tunes in endless crescendos of barely intelligible fuzzed out guitar while falling into near-trancelike states. Even on the more subdued numbers, the band retains their intensity, displaying a rare ability to revel in the dynamic passages that are lifting Hospital Garden up in the ranks of Dayton's current crop...



...in from Columbus, the crowd became quickly enthralled with the quintet that is Flotation Walls. With a seemingly endless cache of instrumentation, the group more closely resembled a chamber orchestra than a traditional rock band. Taking cues from contemporaries such as The Polyphonic Spree, Arcade Fire, and Everthus the Deadbeats and adorned in yellow-topped uniforms, Flotation Walls delivered a dynamic, impassioned set that explored both the delicate, quiet spaces and exploded into the atmosphere with a searing intensity that climaxed with the aptly titled track, "The Sky Ejaculates". Indeed, throughout their set, the band displayed a gift of impeccable, yet unpredictable, pop sensibilities laced with near-virtuostic abilities that, while largely restrained, provided cliff-hanging moments that only intensified their material. With their debut disc pending in the coming months, this may very well be one of the most engaging bands going in Ohio at the moment...



...closing out the evening were one of our current Dayton favorites, Toads and Mice. With a handful of new songs in tow, the band exemplified yet again why they are currently at the top of the heap in Dayton at the moment. Guitarists Dustin Rose and Matt Shields effortlessly veered between gigantic, angular riffs and dexterous chromatic guitar runs that somehow walk the gossamer thread between arty wanking and inventive melodicism, ultimately landing firmly on the side of the latter. What's more incredible is Rose's ability to display such guitar acrobatics while delivering such angelic melodicism as the band's sole vocalist. Likewise, drummer Brandon Guthrie perpetually gives a clinic on rudimentary drumming while somehow perpetually infusing the songs with an undeniable danceability. With bassist Brad Patrick's impeccable restraint, the band's ability to forge a sound that is at once highly intellectual and yet wholly exuberant serves to endlessly amaze their audiences...



For more photos from the evening, go here.