Like their former literate counterparts, Neutral Milk Hotelor Clem Snide, weaving in humor through odd, lyrical references, Hallelujah theHills lightened up their well-read pop with a little Moog noodling or a trumpetblast. Bentley truly isn’t all that far of a cry from being a doppelganger ofClem Snide’s Eef Barzelay also in terms of voicehis vocals carry a similarplaintive honk when bemoaning about life’s obscure trials. Despite beingtrial-centric, this smart-pop remained uplifting in its solid musicianship.Rutledge, alone, could’ve carried the band with his energy. When not blastingbrassy Calexico-inspired notes, he was manning the Moog, bopping about like theten-year old at a wedding party, on the dance floor from the first to the lastsong. Equally inspiring was Glover, whose “give it your all” drumming style hadhis requisite long drummer hair flying and his t-shirt soaked by the end of theset. Whatever energy the other two guitarists lacked, Glover, Bentley andRutledge more than made up for.
Headliner Quinn Scharber had a lot of ground to cover inbridging the set gap between Hallelujah the Hills’ dynamic performance, playingto a Sunday night crowd a great deal smaller than he was used to, but if anylocal pop band could do it, Scharber’s could. With a new rhythm guitarist intow, the band’s sound has morphed from straight up enjoyable Midwestern pop(ala The Replacements) to solid showmanship, as Scharber and his new bandmateJohnathon Mayer displayed their impressive skills as they traded rhythm andriffing duties. Recently joined drummer Jon Phillip (The Benjamins, Limbeck)kept the sound and feel down to earth as he dug into his drums with genuinegusto.
Scharber’s Being NiceWon’t Save Milwaukee owned most of the set, but the older songs got newlegs from new contributors, the newbie guitarist adding his straight-forwardharmonizing vocals to Scharber’s Elliott Smith-like subdued rasp. “Keep itLegal,” “She Will” and “Latest Flame” got tweaked a bit, and although thisdidn’t inspire insta-recognition from repeat audience members, (who normallywould be throwing themselves into a wholehearted sing-a-long, complete withScharber’s bygone “tambourine orchestra”), the songs still held their own.Perhaps not as boisterous as before, but still solid, and a bit more mature,Scharber’s Midwestern pop is getting ready to say goodbye to Being Nice and looks to work on a newchapter of their “Midwest Blues.”
