The Buddha Den Presents: Toads and Mice/Minutes @ Pearl 9.14.08

...with much of the region's power out, we found ourselves incredibly fortunate to be able continue on with our show last night at Pearl. The bands were more than willing to play and a small but enthusiastic crowd made for a fun, if not eerie, evening...

...opening the night were new band Minutes. According to reports this was only their third show. Despite the lack of stage time with this outfit, it quickly became apparent that this was not amateur hour. With most of the lineup serving in various punk/hardcore outfits through the last few years, the music of Minutes was surprising. The band may have retained some of the heavier elements of the pedigree, but in this setting added to the mix incredibly sensitive dynamics, as well as keyboards and various percussion. The arrangements of their pieces showed a bit of a prog flair at times as well as some ear-catching melodic hooks, despite the fact the band was without vocals on this night. Although the band seems to still be taking shape, keep an eye out for Minutes...




...although Zelazowa was scheduled to make a tour stop from Philadelphia last night, there was a mixup and the band did not stop through. Instead, Toads and Mice took the stage earlier in the evening than planned and delivered yet another impeccable set. After covering the band so many times over the last year, we're nearly at a loss of what to say about the band. This outfit simply delivers every time. Even on newer material like the sprawling monolith of "Nineteen Twentious" and the bouncy jazz inflections of "Undress", the band has such incredible command over the material. Apparently on this night, they allowed a close friend to draw up the set list for a laugh. For once, we saw a tiny crack in the Toads and Mice armor as the song "Skull" (from their debut album) resulted in a few missed bars from guitarist Dustin Rose. Afterwards, the admission that the band hadn't played the song in over 6 months seemed justify the error. Quite simply, Toads and Mice are one of the most consistently gratifying bands in Dayton at the moment...