The first band of the night that I saw was a delightful little groop by the name of Arcade. Ah, Arcade...
Do you remember all of the radio-friendly rock bands that sounded like atrocious Pearl Jam rip-offs?
Arcade do the same thing and somehow manage to sound worse than those bands, mainly because, a) it's been done to death; and, b) it's been done better.
In their defense, however, I must say that the saxophone did give them that bloated, corporate-rock sound that I'm sure they were aiming for.
Anyhow, we (Jimmy Weasel and I) escaped the tail-end of the Arcade set to consume the nastiest, most wretched coffee that I have ever tasted.
We came back from our coffee break a few minutes before Aquanox got on and guesses were made as to what type of music they would play.
I, incorrectly, assumed that they would sound like U2, my decision based solely on the look of the bass player and the, incorrect, assumption that he was, in fact, the singer. Weasel had them pegged for Jeff Buckley.
They sound neither like U2 nor like Jeff Buckley.
Instead, Aquanox are a safe sounding alternative band who are treading so softly as to probably garner some radio interest, but who are also, in the process, leaving the Earth completely unshattered.
There's nothing inherently wrong with this, however, because, really, music is as much a craft as it is an art, and while I can't say that I would make a point to see them again, I will say that their songs did sound different to one another, which is commendable, and that they're a pretty tight band, which is admirable.
Also, they averaged about two guitar solos per song, which is just mind-boggling.
because I'm not smart enough
Reviewed on Tuesday, 6 July 2004