By Seamus Simpson
Last Friday I ventured out in the rain to see Radars to the
Sky headline what seemed on paper to be a good show. I was wondering if the
weather would get in the way or if people would brave the rain to see some good
old-fashioned indie rock. To my surprise the kids did come.
I walked in on the tail end of a great set by The Hectors. This seems to be the story of my life when connected to The Hectors. I always seem to walk in on the end of a set. That said they are one of the little known gems on the “Silver Lake” scene. They play such a great version of dreamlike airy pop that to me harkens back to the great bands like Dream Syndicate but with a healthy dose of distortion to give that almost MBV sound without all the pretension that comes along with sounding like shoegaze.
After a little schmoozing with some friends of other local bands and a couple of trips to the bar I was surprised by the band I saw next. It was Rademacher, but it wasn’t any version of Rademacher I had ever seen. Eli was still hitting the skins like a manic, but Malcolm, instead of his usual place behind his guitar pulling everything along like a ringmaster, was instead transferred to a new place behind bass. I joked to a friend that it seems at times you can trace the history and sound of this band by the complicated relationships that have been though it, but more on that some other time. The end result was a good set, but it seemed to lack the usual fire I expect to see from Rademacher. In good news I was told that this was Malcolm’s last show behind the bass and he is moving back to his rightful place on guitar.
