Pulling Unit, Big Bang Theory, and the Zippo Moment
Grand Emporium
July 12, 1999

Review by Mark Cuthbertson

All three of these bands were new to me this time. Pinning a definitive label or sound on each band overall was more difficult than usual.

Variety abounded in Pulling Unit's songs. Within their first couple of numbers, I identified elements of power-pop (verses), neo-punk (a Nirvana-like anti-chorus), classic rock (pentatonic riffs, relative minor bridges), and metal. I even overheard an audience member refer to a song as "rockin' country." The closest approximation of their overall sound would be along the lines of Back Porch Mary with more of an edge and a more diverse palette of textures and tones. Other things that reminded me of seventies-era classic rock (such as AC/DC, BTO, etc.) included ending one song with feedback and a jam into the next tune, a harmonica solo, and the lead singer playing his guitar behind his head on another selection.

Originally from Milwaukee, Los Angeles's Big Bang Theory brought the widest variety of sounds I'd ever heard from a mostly-originals band and a truckload of energy aiming to entertain. While I usually think of variety as a good thing, I reached a point of feeling as though I was listening to a jukebox and watching silent film footage of a live band after awhile. Nearly all vocal harmonies were sour throughout the set. Some people were obviously into them judging by the number of bodies moving to their danceable tunes and the interactions with the lead singer between songs. Few responded in agreement when he commented on the radio-friendliness of one of their songs, however.

All of their songs tended to remind me of someone, but in a slower, faster, or "Lite" version. A short list of my comments: Living Colour Lite (regarding "Bona Fide Totally Carefree Cosmic Girl"), slower/lighter Red Hot Chili Peppers (regarding "Great White Trash"), faster "Jane Says"-ish ballad (regarding "Room with a View"), late Guess Who crossed with Peter Frampton and Eddie Money, Kool and the Gang brand of funk lite, Sam and Dave Lite, funk ballad, Counting Crows-ish vocals, choppier Tower of Power, Barry White moments (with a very fake-sounding synth sax sound), early sixties-era ballad, and sounded most like Grand Funk Railroad overall. They closed with a fairly soulful original (with an organ sound on the synth that sounded closer to the real thing than any of the other sounds they'd used) and a cover of Badfinger's "No matter What" (my personal highlight of their set).

Kansas City's own Zippo Moment closed the evening with a more unified sound, but still managed to achieve several different moods musically. Their poppy sound reaches back to the rock bands of the late sixties and ties those textures with the jangly tones of some eighties and nineties groups. Brian Dehner tastefully added sound effects like phase shift, delay, reverb, and varied levels of distortion to his guitar tones to accent the changes in tempo and mood (ranging from eeriness to high-energy angst to low-key brooding) which were catalyzed by the lead singer/bassist Jon Freeman's vocals. In their second-to-last piece, the bass dropped out during a half-time section to maximize the decrescendo begun by drummer Alex Harris.

--Mark Cuthbertson