I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: February 4, 2020] The Dull Blue Lights

The Dull Blue Lights are yet another Philly band that I’d never heard of.

I’m always curious about the logistics of touring.  Like, when does a band wind up using local bands as opening acts instead of having someone tour around with them?  And how do they pick a local band in each town?

Well, whoever did their research did it very well because The Dull Blue Lights were an absolutely perfect opening act for Seratones and they were absolutely fantastic.

The Lights describe their music as “Basement Soul” which is a perfect summary of the kind of music they play.  It has a Soul feel (with a fantastic organ sound) but a nice gritty guitar and vocal component that makes it different from pure soul.

Generally, their songs had great riffs from singer/guitarist Todd Fausnacht.  But there were also multiple sections of the songs that made the more than one-dimensional.   Fausnacht also had a cool yelping falsetto that he could employ whenever he needed.

But what really sold me right away was the way the first song, “A Faint Whisper,” seemed like it was one thing (kind of an old-school rocker) and then the chorus turned into something much smoother before rocking out again.

For the second song, “A Caged Bird Goes Free” bassist Ben Parry took over lead vocals.  This song also had a classic riff and moved along really nicely.

“Unveil the Elephant” features some great organ from Matt McLeod and a pretty picked guitar melody before the crashing chorus comes in.

The Dull Blue Lights have two albums out (both on bandcamp).  Their set was a mix of five songs from each album and while I can see some excellent progression in the “newer” songs, the older ones were pretty fantastic too.  Like “Press Play” which had a fun bouncy rhythm and some great lead guitar licks from Fausnacht. I loved the way he easily threw those licks out like nothing.

McLeod switched from an organ sound to a nice piano sound for the more rock and roll feel of “A Deeper Blue.”

The show had been pretty intense for the first half, but they slowed things down for the chill “Headlines on Display.”  However, there were only a few moments to chill out before the somewhat ironically titled “Sedated” allowed Fausnacht to play some seriously intense guitar scorching.

There was a fifth member on stage and yet I never caught his name.  All of the promo material for The Dull Blue Lights shows a four piece.  But their earlier records show the band as a five-piece.  Whatever the case, the unnamed rhythm guitarist allowed Faustnacht to back off on some of the songs while the rhythm played behind him.

The great organ sound (and backing vocals from just about everybody, including drummer Josh Parry) were back for “Alarm Clock Serenade.”  The second to last song, “Basement” also played with quiet and loud dynamics as it started slowly, had a hugely loud bridge and then a soulful chorus (with two vocal lines).

I enjoy being close enough to see musicians’ tattoos.  I’m fascinated by this one..what could it mean?.

The highlight of the night was the final song, “Apocalyptic Snow.”  It featured a fairly conventional lead riff, but it totally rocked.  The whole band (including again, great organ sounds) ripped through the riffing and soling.  After about four minutes the song seemed to end, but it was just a chance for things to slow down.  On record the song is 8 minutes long.  The middle section was a slow jam of drums and organs and interesting guitar sounds.  It was quietish for about two minutes (and the crowd was totally hooked) before the band started reconstruction the song to it’s fantastic conclusion.

When the Seratones came on they also praises The Dull Blue Lights and seemed as impressed as everyone else was with how polished and frankly fantastic they were.

That’s why you get to shows early–to see openers like this.

SETLIST

1. A Faint Whisper §
2. A Caged Bird Goes Free ¤
3. Unveil the Elephant ¤
4. Press Play §
5. A Deeper Blue §
6. Headlines on Display ¤
7. Sedated §
8. Alarm Clock Serenade ¤
9. Basement §
10. Apocalyptic Snow ¤

¤ Apocalyptic Snow (2018)
§ The Dull Blue Lights (2017)