Local Chicago band The Redwalls never made tight-fitting
clothes, leather jackets and shaggy mullets look so good. Making their second-to-last
stop on tour at the High Noon Saloon Thursday night, they played for a small
audience promoting their newest self-titled album, The Redwalls.
The evening?s opening act, Fever Marlene, a University of
Wisconsin alumni duo rock band, set the night?s tone with their hard-hitting
rhythms working off the guitar to the drum set, and vice versa. Despite being
only two of them, Fever Marlene was able to rock as hard as another duet that
comes to mind: the White Stripes ? with the exceptional/clear/obvious
distinction that Fever Marlene?s drummer Kevin Dunphy is actually good. After
moving around between New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Fever Marlene has
since settled in Milwaukee. While performing Thursday night, they played
numerous songs from their recent album, White
China.
Following Fever Marlene, another set of UW alumni hit the
stage, the Selfish Gene. Eric Andraska (bass, vocals) told The Badger Herald
this Madison-based quartet came together about eight years ago and have since
toured throughout the Midwest. The band takes its name from Richard Dawkins?
controversial 1976 book on evolution, ?The Selfish Gene,? giving these science
nerds a way to experiment with psychedelic pop-rock. Promoting their album The Grand
Masquerade, the Selfish Gene gave off vibes that felt like
classic bands from the ?60s and ?70s. Unfortunately, though, the band failed to
live up to the rock-style mood of the night and just bored the audience.
With minimal head bobbing and body swaying throughout the
two openers, The Redwalls were sure to make a difference with their
classic-rocker appearances and raspy voices. Playing for over an hour, the band
left the audience satisfied and wanting more.
The Redwalls opened the show with ?Falling Down,? from their
2005 album De Nova.? Other songs played from the album were
?Love Her? and ?Build A Bridge.?
The Redwalls continued to play songs from past albums,
including ?Memories? from The Wall to
Wall Session (2007) and ?Balinese? from Universal
Blues (2003). Yet, perhaps some of the best music played Thursday evening
was from their newest album. The first released single from the The Redwalls, ?Modern Diet,? was the
biggest crowd pleaser, possessing the audience to feed off the band?s energy.
Other songs included ?Game of Love,? ?Each and Every Night,? ?Put Us Down,?
?They Are Among Us? and ?In the Time of the Machine.?
These heavy-rocking songs hit the ear just right, causing
hands to be raised in praise of these modern-day Beatles.
