Avondale and Molly McGuire
the Hurricane
June 19, 1999

Review by Mark Cuthbertson

Two edgy-sounding bands took the stage Saturday, June 19, 1999. Avondale, a relative newcomer, opened for the 8-year veteran group Molly McGuire with David from Season to Risk filling in for Jason Gerken.

An Avondale virgin, I had no idea what to expect. I own recordings of guitarist Joe Fortunato's (REDSHIFT) and drummer Gregg Todt's (Venus Auto) former bands, but wasn't quick to assume anything. The resulting Avondale sounds like a maturing hybrid of those two bands and also reminded me of Shudder to Think, Queensryche, Styx, (fast) Tool, Iron Maiden, and Dokken at times. However, Avondale separates itself from such unfair comparisons with its own dynamic and musical blending of detuned, diminished riffs with surges of full-bodied, sweet-sounding open/9th/4th chord voicings -- too melodic to be "hard-core" and too dynamic to be "metal."

Most of the comparisons are inspired by Matt Pallubicki's operatic, over-the-top vocals. Gregg adds his own raspier voice to the mix, giving the band a good contrast that way. Words were difficult to understand much of the time, but that's typical of a first listen. Still, I suspect that Matt's elongating and sustaining vowels may have made it more difficult, too. Avondale had a respectable crowd, most of whom were visibly into their show, and I overheard several people's positive comments about the overal sound of the band and the dominance of the singer.

The instruments could have been louder or crunchier in the mix, but the rich tones of the guitars and Brian Brooks's distorted, meaty bass were still apparent and appreciated. Gregg's drumming was extremely musical, accenting and changing from one fill to the next and seldom playing any two fills alike in a song. A couple of their songs featured tight stops and starts, and they pulled these off without giving away the surprise to the audience. If any one of them led the intensity or dynamics, it was Fortunato. He twisted and lurched during the hard-hitting sections and set the tones of the slower passages with clean, muted eighth notes or controlled feedback. However, Pallubicki was also animated and varied his voice to match the tone of each section, and Brooks opened one of their last selections with a cool bass intro.

With regard to Molly McGuire, nearly all news is good news. Contrary to rumors I've heard for the past few months, the band plans to stay in KC and anticipates releasing a new album sometime this winter. The absence of Gerken in the lineup ruled out audience requests for "Plastic Pirates" and "Sisters of the Sacred Heart," but David could have otherwise fooled just about anyone into thinking he'd been in the band for a long time. Blackmore was as animated and visibly enthused about playing as I can recall from the past year or so.

Toby and Blackmore are still a killer duo with their voices and guitars. Toby is the perfect smooth operator contrast to Blackmore's grittier, brash cadence. Even on rather lengthy instrumental sections, they always manage to support and supplement each other's music and energy with thick, rich sound. This was especially apparent on some of the longer new songs and an extended version of "Coin Toss."

Molly McGuire's halcyon bassist, Jimmy, always seems to begin shows somewhere a little left of Zen, but he couldn't resist becoming more visibly excitable this time. Every note was huge, supportive, and musical.

The band plans to tour the West Coast and continue to write, mix, and otherwise work toward releasing their upcoming album in the upcoming months.

--Mark Cuthbertson