Show Review: Hot Hot Heat, the 22-20's. Hey Rosetta - 8/19/10

Hot Hot Heat
22-20s (There's a free EP d/l on this link!)
Hey Rosetta

Rickshaw Stop - SF
August 19, 2010

Hey Rosetta - Erin Aurich - violin                    photo: CJ

Hey Rosetta is a quietly intense band from Canada that features a violin and cello.  They should turn the string section up because I think they sounded good, but would have been better with louder strings.  Otherwise, I thought they were Irish. Mainly because there was a guy in the audience who was so fucking stoked to be seeing this band, it reminded me of the first time I saw Keyboard Cat.  He got a few pints of Guinness down before asking for an autograph on his 7".  I love his enthusiasm & the zeal these micks & their fans exhibit.

22-20s                                    Photo: GRC

The 22-20's didn't play enough of their songs featured on foreign commercials that are very catchy, indeed.  They did play the songs from their new record "shake/shiver/moan".  This is the much anticipated follow up material to their initial outing of raw, excitable blues. Then they broke up. Then they got back together after having real jobs as stated in this interview/performance on UStream.  Now various & sundry members are back to tear it up stateside.  And boy did they!  The room was quivering with their rollicking, mildly dark, kinda sleezy blues. Picks:  Ocean, Bitter Pills, shake/shiver/moan.

Hot Hot Heat                                 photo: GRC

I have to say hearing Hot Hot Heat live was like pouring medium size chunks of  broken glass into my ears.  The singer's voice is so ill angled & well projected, it can't get into my ear holes.  Which stops me from hearing the rest of  the music.  I know this is an unpopular position according to crowd response, so I'll just quit talking about it. 

And now the Codger's View: I could not be less amused when a club uses a smoke machine for "effect". I loved smoking in bars/clubs so much. I like it when I'm the smoke machine. The smoke machine did not make this show better. Make up your mind.