slow-dog.concert

29 Jan 2000 - Canal Street Tavern , Dayton OH
Lollipop Factory, Shrug

The weather had been keeping me sedentary for awhile, but I decided to brave the elements to go see Shrug at the Canal Street Tavern, This place is one of the few decent venues in Dayton, and they get a wide variety of acts coming through, including y'alternative country, cajun, blues, and others. Tonight, it was all about rock.

First up was Columbus's Lollipop Factory. I arrived mid-set to their strutting and posturing. It was like I had been magically transported back to the 70s. There's a lot of bands out there where you can hear their songs and reconstruct their record collection. Well, these guys are all 70s rock and roll. Want to know what Queen would've sounded like if they had been put in a deep sleep in 1979 and never made Flash Gordon, only to wake up in the late 20th century? Well, go see Lollipop Factory, because that's pretty much what you get. There are a few nods to Alice Cooper and other 70s icons, but mostly this is a Queen rehash, and they're not bad at it.

Unfortunately, from my perspective, there didn't seem to be much innovation here. The boys in the band can clearly play, but it seems like their songs don't bring anything new to the table. Believe me, I was impressed by the first use of flashpots I've seen in a small club, but at the end of it all, I felt like it had all been done before.

Now the reason I was there was to see Dayton's own Shrug. They've garnered a fair amount of local attention here. They appeared at 103.9's X-fest back in September with Guided by Voices and a bunch of bands not worth remembering, most memorably Men at Work. Shrug also won 97X's 97X-posure 1998 contest as the best local (Cincnnati-Dayton-TriState area) band. That attention is well deserved.

There's a lot to like about Shrug. Their musicianship is good. They write interesting melodies. The lead singer, Tod Weidner, is a charismatic frontman with one of those deep, full voices which these days seems to be a requirement for mass-market success. It's easy to see how a couple of radio edits and a publicity blitz by a major label could turn Shrug into the next big thing. Hopefully, we won't be subjected to that, but it's that thought that provides my only criticism of Shrug.

They're good at what they do. On ballads, Tod is earnest and sincere. They seamlessly transform themselves into a rock band for some of their songs. The show ended with a Who-esque jam showing off Tod's chops on guitar, his affinity for effects pedals, andd tremendous rockstar energy. Throughout the show, The rhythm section provides credible beats, and bassist Adam Edwards laid down enough 70s funk licks for hipster credibility. They certainly put on a good performance, and I can see why they have a devoted following in this area.

Shrug is definitely more interesting than a lot of the music that you can hear on your favorite corporate radio station. Their simiilarity to this music, though, leads me to worry for their future. If Warner Brothers should ever come knocking, we can toss Shrug on top of the heap with Lotion, Lit, and Fastball. Until this happens, though, feel free to enjoy them without guilt.