Paul Collins Beat is the name of Paul Collins and his backing band – in the case of his show last night at Ace of Cups, three Australian dudes.
I had never heard of Paul Collins, nor did I know his influence on modern music. This dude has been around the block a few times, and you can tell he’s a pro and takes his music seriously (while having a good time playing it). His stage demeanor is humble and modest born out of seeing it all before.
I can’t name any specific songs, as I said, prior to last night, I knew nothing about the man or his music. But I’m certainly going to investigate his extensive catalogue after witnessing his performance.
His musical style at this show was mostly pop-punk/power pop – catchy chorus’, fast guitars, rhythm guitarist and bassist providing back-up vocals on the chorus’. Songs about girls and good times.
Middle band was The Girls, which has 5 members and only two of which are women. They were excellent as well. I saw them play at Carabar a few weeks ago, where I wasn’t impressed, but they brought a lot more energy to this show.
My date and I couldn’t help but laugh at the make-up of the band. Like I said, the music was excellent, but band seems to be made up of an irregular cast of misfits; from left to right…
- The bassist seemed to take playing the bass VERY seriously. Even when his strap fell off and a roadie/fan was trying to help put it back on, he didn’t miss a note.
- Jessica Wabbit (or Rabbit, she played in another band that I reviewed here) is the pixie-sized singer/guitarist who has an incredible voice. Her between song banter consisted of one-line zingers and taking her shirt off, and telling The Angriest Tambourine Player to take her shirt off as well.
- The Drummer was an ogre and really kicked ass on the drums.
- The Angriest Tambourine Player was just that – an angry tambourine player. She also sang some back-up and danced; all while scowling. Which was kind of impressive considering how energetic she was.
- Lastly, the second guitarist was Metal Dude who looked like he was in the wrong band. He was super into the music, though, and looked like he was having a blast.
Thanks…awesome review!