...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead & The Secret Machines @ Warehouse Live

Submitted by eggs on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 01:12.

A while back, a tour-opening showcase featuring ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and The Secret Machines took place on a hot night in the crowded Studio of Warehouse Live. I photographed the show, got down for a bit, then proceeded to drink the night away. I usually maintain a certain level of professionalism by remaining somewhat sober at shows I'm working, but the mix of a solid Secret Machines set added to a conveniently located bar with cheap draft beer easily made me end up in quite an inebriated stupor towards the end of the evening. My review is going to remain short because of my intoxication.

Read about the show and browse a bunch of photos after the jump

The Secret Machines only played for a little over thirty five minutes, but managed to open up some lengthy distorted jams in that time – specifically on a masterfully crafted breakdown during "The Walls Are Starting To Crack." The crowd-pleaser of the short set was undeniably a slow, bluesy take on "Alone, Jealous and Stoned." This was about the fifth time I've seen TSM's, and each time they progress their sound, and add different influences to both new and old songs. Too bad they didn't play for longer, because I was much more into their set then the headliner.

I saw ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead in London on St. Patrick's Day in 2005. At that time, I hated them, but I was extremely tired from a long day of sightseeing with a visiting friend, so I wrote it off and vowed to check them out again at a later date. Four years passed. I moved back to the States and found myself in Houston. I had several opportunities to see the Austin band, but over that span of time, I never brought myself to do so. I almost saw them the last time they played Warehouse Live, even making it into the venue that night. After being disappointed by an over-abundance of shitty opening bands, I decided to ship off in favor of a cold pint of IPA at the neighboring Lucky's Pub. Finally, a quality opener mixed with a night off, and I was standing front row waiting to photograph Trail of Dead.

They began their set, and I immediately realized why I didn't like them four years ago. At that time, my favorite bands were into jamming, with clean notes and non-screamy vocals. Trail of Dead are quite possibly the exact opposite of that. While I still didn't really dig them this time (as in I wouldn't go out and buy their album), their sound hit my ears much better the second go-around. They have a pretty dedicated fanbase, which was evident as much now as it was four years ago. Their fans know all the songs, and make it known by belting out the lyrics of each song from start to finish. A bit annoying if you want to actually hear the band, but you can't really yell at a die-hard now can you? They definitely have something going as a band, but I'm not sure if they could ever live up to their name.

I hope to catch The Secret Machines again real soon, hopefully during a show where they are holding the headlining spot. I will probably skip the next Trail Of Dead show, unless again they bring along a quality opener.