A few minutes ago my brother sent me a message asking if I had written my review of last night’s show yet. He was curious: “Are you going to be nice to those first two bands? Because they were terrible.”

Personally I didn’t feel that way about either of the openers, but Brawley Banks was definitely predictable. They are a new band in town made up of a bunch of guys from groups I liked, and they've only played a few shows, so I’m willing to give them some leeway on not having their act in top form, but their set last night didn’t exactly leave me wanting more. They’ve succeeded in assembling a team of like-minded longhairs to start up a folky, 70s classic rock band, but they haven’t quite figured out how to do anything innovative with that formula yet. There were no interesting, modern deviations from the standard they were emulating - It kind of felt like watching the band Stillwater from Almost Famous. But they’re new, and competent, and have earned respect from their previous work, so hopefully they’ll grow into something more.

The group I went to the show with was evenly and decidedly torn on Woods: Half of us liked them, half were completely unimpressed. Lead singer Jeremy Earl (also of Brooklyn’s Meneguar) chirped vocals that came through the PA so fragile it was hard to imagine they belonged to his body. Their high pitched folk was like a less precise, more rustic Jeff Hanson, with gritty guitars and quasi-psych jamouts. I loved that the drummer also played guitar on some songs, and that there was a guy with headphones covering his mouth writhing on the front of the stage (apparently he’s a "tape effects technician"). One friend thought they were treading too well worn territory with their acoustic material, but I thought they were pushing the singer/songwriter dynamic in really interesting ways. I am eager to hear their records.

Since their show at Chop Suey last November, Dungen have become one of my favorite bands. They are the perfect mix of rock, psychedelic jam, and pop, with just the right touch of jazz. They are incredibly tight and entertaining to watch, and so good at nailing breakdowns that multiple people in the audience couldn’t help but yell and whistle at them mid-song. They played primarily material off their newest record 4, as well as the three best songs off Ta Det Lugnt: “Panda,” “Festival” and the scorcher “Bortglomd.”