Pretty & Nice/Minutes/Kuan/Hills @ Blind Bob's 4.13.09

...with the skies above Dayton filled with rainclouds on a rather dreary Monday evening, from the streetview it would have been easy to mistake the crowd in Blind Bob's for a Friday night. With the trifecta of instrumental bands filing up most of the evening, Hills, Minutes, and Kuan all brought a distinctly different blend to the table. Opening things up, the duo Hills dabbled heavily in spacey atmospherics that may have been better suited to an art gallery or lightshow than a Midwestern bar. Next up were Minutes, who seem to be gaining a full head of steam as of late with their slightly jazzier instrumental compositions. Still extremely muscular, the band's expansive melodies and driving-yet-disciplined rhythm section hold attention even without uttering a word. Closing out the non-vocal section of the evening, Kuan took the instrumental track in a decidedly more classic rock direction, hinting at the Allman's harmony guitar leads and Zep-like throttle. Kuan seems to just be hit a stride as of late, so keep an eye on them in the Dayton scene. Although original headliner Unwed Sailor canceled at the last minute, a rather serendipitous turn of events brought about a surprise visit from our old friends, Pretty & Nice. With this their seventh visit to the Gem City in the last 2 years, P&N served up one their best sets yet. We're looking for yet another visit this summer, so tune in...






For more photos from the evening, go here. If you live outside of Dayton, we highly recommend you make a point to check out Pretty & Nice somewhere along this tour they're on. Maybe you could even help them fill in some of those TBAs...

04.14.09 - Detroit, MI - Trowbridge House of Coffee
04.15.09 - Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
04.16.09 - Springfield, MO - Nathan P. Murphy's
04.17.09 - St. Louis, MO - The Firebird #
04.18.09 - Lawrence, KS - Jackpot Saloon #
04.19.09 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive
04.20.09 - Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court
04.23.09 - Seattle, WA - Holy Mountain
04.24.09 - Sacramento, CA - Blue Lamp
04.25.09 - Santa Cruz, CA - Zami Co-op !
04.26.09 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory
04.28.09 - Phoenix, AZ - Modified
04.30.09 - Austin, TX - Emo's
05.01.09 - Houston, TX - Super Happy Fun Land
05.02.09 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon
05.04.09 - Birmingham, AL - TBA
05.05.09 - Florida TBA
05.06.09 - Florida TBA
05.07.09 - Florida TBA
05.08.09 - Florida TBA
05.09.09 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn *
05.10.09 - Charlotte, NC - Milestone
05.11.09 - Columbia, SC - New Brookland
05.12.09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
05.13.09 - Wilmington, NC - Soapbox Laundro Lounge
05.14.09 - Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
05.15.09 - Philadelphia, PA - TBA
05.16.09 - Washington, DC - Rock N Roll Hotel
06.05.09 - Boston, MA - TT the Bears $

# - w/ Radical Sons
! - w/ Color of Love, Tempo No Tempo, James Rabbit / Antarctica Takes it! (split set)
* - w/ Wye Oak, The Pomegranites
$ - w/ Middle Distance Runner, Reports, Big Big Bucks