Faster, Harder: A new sound comes to the Gorge, and no one cares

By John McCann

Being a senior here at GMC I have seen my share of College Programming Board (CPB) events. Almost every Wednesday night the GMC community is treated to some kind of amusement down in the Gorge. It doesn't take long to notice a trend.

Movies, comedians, and music are about all we get with a game show or something thrown in every once in a while. Don't get me wrong, we aren't being short-changed because these options are just about the only options our activity coordinators have to chose from.

Aside from the types of events, it is easy to notice another trend. Whenever we do have music in the Gorge, the performer(s) have a descriptions that will generally include the following; "singer song writer", "a combination of funk and [insert any other possible music category here]", or "banjo/string band/unique talents on guitar". To me, this is all hippie stuff. And, no offense intended, this not what I want to hear!

When I heard that Look West and Beneath it All (two "hard rock" bands from the Connecticut area we coming to play GMC, I couldn't wait. I was one of none though. I showed up to the Gorge at the time that the show was scheduled to begin and to my surprise I was the only non-band member there. A half hour later a few more students showed up, but they were only there because one of them knew some of the band members.

How pathetic is that? Two bands, decent in sound and relatively high in talent, trying to make a name for themselves book a gig and roughly 20 people show up. I told one of the band members that they weren't the normal type of band to play the Gorge, but that I thought more people would have shown. I was sorely mistaken about the GMC community. It seems very few people like anything but jam bands and those that do like alternative rock don't care enough to show it.

Opening Band, Look West: This is a relatively young band (they've only been together for two years), but they've got a sound that distinguishes them from everything the mainstream music industry keeps dumping on me. They seem too grown up to be emo and too young to pick up the "modern retro" sound or whatever you would call The Strokes and Morrissey styled bands.

It has been a while since I've seen bands like these playing little venues like ours, but Look West certainly stands out from what I remember. They had plenty of energy on stage with vocals that went from somewhat weak singing to screaming in a way that makes sense (almost reminiscent of Linkin Park, but I'd hate to really make that connection).

The highlight of their set was when the bassist asked the "audience" if we'd like to hear a song about a fat girl or a song by the Spice Girls. I would like to impress upon the reader that what followed was the best version of "Wannabe" ever.

All in all this band could use a little polishing and little more time under their belt, but with their self-proclaimed Hoobastank and Incubus influences I couldn't help but enjoy them.

Headlining Band, Beneath it All: What seemed to me to be an incredibly random grouping of guys (based on their apparel) ended up creating a set of sounds with such quality that I wouldn't be surprised if it was coming out of my radio. Also from Connecticut, this roughly five year old band is tight. All I can say is they know what they are doing.

From the look of the singer, I expected him to start belting out lyrics about ex-girlfriends and whatever else teens cry about with a whiney voice that begs the use of Paxil. I wasn't entirely wrong, but I have to give these guys more credit than the emo stuff filling the airwaves. Two guitars, a bass, practiced vocals, and a set of piercing drums lends to a loud, fast, energetically mellow sound. This is not a band to be passed over. With an over very well tuned feel. These guys are close. If they can get themselves in the right place at the right time, I don't doubt that they will be seeing some radio play.