We Barbarians at the Detroit Bar

I just had to check in on the We Barbarians finale of their Monday residency at the Detroit Bar. I caught their first show of their residency a few weeks ago and was impressed with some of the new songs that they unfurled.

Greater California




Greater California from Long Beach played their sunny California indie pop in the vein that reminded me of Ben Folds Five crossed with the Beach Boys. Terry Prine (Vocals/Guitars/Keyboards) was behind his Roland VK-8 hammering out their Sunday morning tunes. It seems like they cooking up a few demos on their Myspace page for a future release. Greater California will be playing with The Year Zero at the Prospector on April 17th which should be a good show.

The Morning Benders






It was lucky show review number seven for The Morning Benders who continued their blitzkrieg on Southern California after two high profile shows with The Kooks at the Troubadour and Echo. I am anxiously awaiting their new album "Talking Through Tin Cans" due out in May. The Morning Benders slashed out the opening chords of "I Was Wrong" as Julian Harmon (Drums) started to smash his cymbals. The Morning Benders had a new look as Tim (Bass) was holding down the low end admirably. "Loose Change" is another drum shuffle display before Chris Chu (Guitars/Vocals) starts in on his Fender Telecaster. "Waiting For A War" is another catchy song with Joe Farrell (Guitars/Keyboards) hunched over his Rhoades keyboard playing a bouncy riff backed by a walking bass line. Chris dedicated "Crosseyed" to himself as he jokingly mentioned it was his 35th birthday. "Damnnit Anna" closed out their set with a good reception from the patrons of the Detroit Bar.

We Barbarians







We Barbarians continue to impress me and played their best show to date with a solid set to close out their residency. We Barbarians opened with a new song "Trickle Down" that is a slow burner with Davey Quon (Vocals/Guitars) weaving a reverb soaked guitar line before Derek Van Heule (Bass) adds his creeping bass. "Spun Out" really gets the show started with its faster paced tremolo guitars and drum furies by Nathan Warkentin. "In The Doldrums" is their debut EP and is quickly running out so I suggest you get to their myspace page and order one before it is gone. "There's This" is easily my favorite We Barbarians song and I hope the song will make it to their full length debut album. The dynamics of the song are excellent as it mixes fast tremolo guitars and heavy bass lines perfectly with Davey's distraught vocals. "Yesmen And Bumsuckers" has Davey alternating between his guitar and some haunting keyboards that starts at a slow tempo before blasting into overdrive."Walls" shows the urgency and desperation in their music as Davey sings "Don't let these walls... Close in". "War Clouds" closed out their all to brief forty minute set. We Barbarians will be playing with Tokyo Police Club at the Troubadour on March 26th and 27th so you better get your tickets now.