I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: March 17, 2023] Bat Fangs

I hadn’t heard of Bat Fangs when this show was announced.  But when I looked them up I was really excited to hear them. I really love duos, especially bands that can really rock even with a two person set up.

I wound up missing the very beginning of this set (parking around Johnny Brenda’s can really suck).  But I caught most of it.

Rather than being a duo, however “(Betsy Wright (Ex Hex) shreds ‘n’ howls over Laura King’s (Flesh Wounds / Speed Stick) deep-thunder drums),” there was  third person on stage playing bass.  I have recently found out that bassist was Chrissy Tashjian (lead vocalist and guitars for the amazing Philly band Thin Lips).

I was a little bummed that they weren’t a duo, but Chrissy’s bass playing was awesome and their backing vocals were pretty incredible.  Indeed, each musician was great.  Betsy Wright played some fantastic guitar solos–shredding like nobody’s business.  And Laura King not only beat the hell out of the drums, but (for some of the songs) the patterns were complex and really interesting.

However, I really didn’t enjoy the songs.

The sound of the band on many of the songs was completely 80’s pop metal.  Simple songs with not only the chord structure but even the sound of a Poison song.  It was really disappointing.  Especially when Laura King resorted to that most 80’s metal annoyance “boom bap boom boom bap  [all instruments cut off] boom bap boom boom bap.”

I get that they are flipping the content of these songs on their heads, which is great, but the songs sounded so much like the music that I really dislike, it was hard to enjoy it.

Having said that, I loved watching King smash her kit and even though Wright’s soloing was very 80s metal also, I can appreciate her mad skills (and who doesn’t love seeing someone in a white body suit and white guitar fingertapping up and down the fretboard?).  Plus, Tashjian is a terrific player as well, and the bass was a really welcomed addition.

I wouldn’t see them again, but the crowd really responded to them, do good for them.

I took a picture of the setlist but the bottom two songs were blurry.