[ATTENDED: June 28, 2015] Lo-Fi Resistance
I usually like to give the opening band from a concert a write up. This is probably the first time in a really long time that I saw an opening band that I’d never heard of (and didn’t take pictures of).
Lo-Fi Resistance is the creation of Randy McShine. As I said, I’d never heard of them, so I had no expectations. I’m kind of glad I didn’t because as I am now reading about them, I would have expected something very different.
McShine was considered a guitar prodigy and he has sung with The Pink Floyd Experience. And McShine has pretty big connections in the prog world. His debut album featured drums from the drummer from Spock’s Beard and also had vocals from dUg Pinnick! (on “Moral Disgrace,” not played that night). Their second album, Chalk Lines, features drummer Gavin Harrison (!) who has played with King Crimson and Porcupine Tree, as well as the bassist for Porcupine Tree and once again Dug Pinnick.
They have just released an EP as well (which they played songs from that night).
Having heard all of this I would have expected a big prog sound. But when they came out it was just McShine on guitar and voice and Tom Brislin on keyboards. (Brislin has toured with Yes!). Their sound was really good but it was very stripped down. In fact the opening song was very mellow–just acoustic guitar and washes of keys. It wasn’t until the middle of the song that I was really impressed by McShine’s voice and the complexity of what he played. He changed guitars for each song and each one was more dynamic. There was a very cool solo on one of the tracks, and since the theater was so small it was great to watch what he was doing to make all the sounds.
They sent a dedication to Chris Squire who had died that day, which was nice (that’s when we learned that Brislin had played with Yes).
I don’t remember any song titles (and they are not listed on setlist), but I’d like to hear them again.
I really like the band–even more upon reflection. Despite them playing with dUg on certain tracks, they seemed an odd choice to open for King’s X because they were so unheavy (and there was no bass). I do wish I had stopped by the merch table though, as I’d like to hear more from them.
They have a bandcamp site where you can hear most of their music, including a new live album
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