Atlanta four-piece Snowden came to town a few weeks back for a single-band show at Allston's Great Scott, and had me by the throat from the very first note. Already a fan of their Jade Tree debut, "Anti-Anti", they did what any live band only hopes to do: take some great songs and improve on them, serve 'em up with seemingly effortless stage presence and all-out urgency. No warm-up act, no encore, just 34 too-short minutes of wow-inducing intensity.
While singer/guitarist Jordan Jeffares' vocals can feel emotionally distant, the propulsive, menacing, music underneath is far from it. David Payne's tasteful guitar atmospherics sit atop a rock-solid bed of bass and drums, a rhythm section that is one of the best I've seen in months. Drummer Chandler Rentz's razor-sharp style is never flashy, and bassist Corinne Lee's own playing and presence made it hard to pay attention to anything else. A true talent, she's got instant rockstar written all over her, and I mean that in the best sense of the word.
If you're at all into their songs (links below), just go see them. Trust me on this. For now, here's their 8-song Allston set... (live mp3s removed at the request of the band's management.))
update 9/19/06: In lieu of live recordings, I've been given links to a couple of Snowden videos (including one new exclusive clip). Check out the details in the links section below.
Live at Great Scott Allston, MA Friday, August 25th, 2006
01. intro 02. Like Bullets 03. Anti-Anti 04. Counterfeit Rules 05. Filler Is Wasted 06. Stop Your Bleeding 07. Between The Rent And Me 08. Kill The Power 09. Black Eyes
Now get out your calendar and mark down the closest one of these Snowden dates...
Sep 18, 2006 - O'Leavers Pub, Omaha, NE Sep 19, 2006 - Subterranean, Chicago, IL Sep 20, 2006 - Alchemize Bar, Cincinnati, OH Sep 21, 2006 - Z:Lounge, Pittsburgh, PA Sep 22, 2006 - The Mercury Lounge, New York, NY Sep 23, 2006 - Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY Sep 25, 2006 - The Middle East, Cambridge, MA Sep 27, 2006 - The Talking Head, Baltimore, MD Sep 29, 2006 - The Nick, Birmingham, AL Oct 06, 2006 - Pure Nightclub, Philadelphia, PA Oct 12, 2006 - WRAS studio session, Atlanta, GA Oct 12, 2006 - Caledonia Lounge Athens, GA Oct 18, 2006 - The Drunken Unicorn, Atlanta, GA Nov 01, 2006 - Gothamist acoustic set, New York, NY
More Snowden mp3s can be found on the band's own media page, including songs from their 2004 self-titled EP. No longer linked, but still available, is a cover of the Zombie's "Time of the Season", as well as two songs from their "Licorice" EP: "Happy Christmas" and "China Light".
After their Great Scott show, Snowden headed down to Brooklyn to play Southpaw the next night. Stereogum was there.
BohemianPlayboy offers up the 'Le Castle Vania Disco Remix' of the song "Black Eyes".
the fine print... If anyone has an issue with this live set being made available, just say the word (email link at bottom left). Recorded with a Sony ECM-719 mic and a Sony MZ-RH10 minidisc, converted to .wav and then edited to 192kbps mp3s. Mp3s are made available for a limited time, and are not reposted once removed.
