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Gordon Gano and the Ryan Brothers At Stephen Talkhouse on June 13 By Tiffany Razzano Gordon Gano, from the seminal alternative-rock band the Violent Femmes, and Huntington-raised brothers Billy and Brendan Ryan, of the well-known New York City band the Bogmen, have joined forces, bringing their new act - Gordon Gano and the Ryan Brothers - to the Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett on Friday, June 13. Backed by a bassist and drummer, that night they debuted their new material on Long Island (though they've played a handful of shows already, one in New York City, the others in California), along with a couple of old favorites, which kept friends and fans dancing throughout their set. Prior to the show, when asked what Femmes and Bogmen fans could expect of their new music, keyboardist Brendan Ryan said, "I think people can expect to hear some music that is brand new and fresh, in which they can probably hear musical influences that make sense according to our musical backgrounds." He added, "Most musicians that I know don't like explaining their own sound because they are trying to break new ground, and hopefully that's the case here. Except I do think that it's fair to say that it sounds like the Violent Femmes meets the Bogmen. It's pretty hard to escape that one!" And that's exactly what the group sounds like. The Ryans wrote the bare bones of the songs, bringing them to Gano when they were complete. Together, the trio tweaked the compositions, making them sound as they do today. The group's new songs tended to hop and blur genres, seamlessly going from alt-country to ballads to rockabilly to funk to surf rock and more. After opening with "Better Than You Know," up next was "Home," a mid-tempo, self-reflective, alt-country-ish tune where Gano wonders, "Why did I wander? / Why did I roam? / So far from my home." Next up, in ironic honor of Father's Day weekend, was "Father Interfered;" a dark, bluesy number. "Oholah Oholibah," opening with a great theatrical keyboard riff, was a dark tale about two sisters. "Got No Choice" was even more twisted and frenetic, with an almost Nick Cave feel to it, and at the end it turned into what could have been a great bar room sing-a-long (think the Doors' "Alabama Whiskey Song" but more punk rock and bizarre). "Still Suddenly Here" started off as a ballad with a very Wilco feel before the band picked up, providing a funk background to the song. A highlight of the night - and Gano even acknowledged that this song was, for some reason unbeknownst to him, always a crowd favorite - was the tongue-twisting, upbeat "The Way That I Creep." This was followed by "La Copa de Negra," a song whose lyrics are in Spanish, about a night where, basically, lots of bad things happened. This one had a kind of surf rock feel to it. "Man in the Sand," aptly, has a surf rock meets alternative rock feel to it, at times sounding a bit like old - and good - Weezer. For the country leaning, "Gone to Pray," the trio broke out the accordion, fiddle and banjo, for amazing results and a sound fitting of the song. And just when you thought they were done for the night at the end of their set, they came back out to perform two favorites of music lovers everywhere - "Blister in the Sun," by, of course, the Violent Femmes, and the Velvet Underground's "Rock and Roll." For more information about when they'll be releasing their upcoming album, or about any upcoming shows, go to myspace.com/gordonganoandtheryanbrothers. |
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