Rattlesnakes! at House of Sheilds ($5)

Rattlesnakes! at the House of Shields was a match made in some undiscovered heaven. House of Shields is a small classy joint on New Montgomery, lit by red chandeliers and populated with bronze statues of naked women. The “stage” is a tiny balcony. Rattlesnakes! are a classic rock/soul inspired band with a small but passionate following. The venue had me prepped for some sultry guitar riffs and raspy girl-you-got-me-good lyrics, and Rattlesnakes! delivered. (emily)

I last saw Rattlesnakes! in a distinctly bizarre “show,” at El Rincon. I think it was some sort of showcase because they only got to play like 4 songs, and the lineup kept changing. I walked in the door with my friend and a woman standing behind a long table asked us who we were there to see, to which we responded “Rattlesnakes!” I think we were responsible for getting the guys moved up on the set list. There were so few people at El Rincon that we could have easily skewed the numbers. It was basically me, my friend, the band and their girlfriends. I felt sorry for them… until they went on, then I was just blown away.

Rattlesnakes! are a five piece band, with the basics: vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drums. Although they are reminiscent of so many of your favorite classic rock bands and solo singers, you can’t quite single one out, which will prevent you from calling them copy-cats. The Rattlesnakes! sound like Traveling Wilburys minus Jeff Lynn and George Harrison with some of the Stones and a little bit of Steven Tyler thrown in. All that, and a whole lot of soul. Yes, I realize those are weighty ingredients, but Rattlesnakes! warrant their mention.

When I saw the ‘snakes setting up and the crowd starting to head up to the balcony, I was shocked by how many people had shown up. I kept saying to my friend “I can’t believe how many people are here!” and she kept responding “It’s not that many people, it’s just a small stage.” But the illusion was perfect. The tiny balcony was packed! There was even a crazed groupie who kept shouting requests and singing like a drunken frat-boy over the lyrics! Sadly, other than him, the audience members were painfully tame. I think I might have been the only one dancing. But, the ‘snakes had them swaying heavily by the end!

The band opened with their classic in the making “Time Killer.” The opening riffs alone will give you chills. It was the perfect song to prep the audience for the set, with is sing-a-long chorus and raspy sexy verses. The rest of the set adhered to the time honored tradition of short upbeat songs with strong baselines sandwiching a few longer slow songs. The energy of the band was high. Even in the slower song, you could sense the dedication as each band member closed his eyes in painful birthing of the music.

Even though the show never got to club shaking status, it definitely had an “I was there when they were playing small bars” feel to it. The buzz around the band is palpable. I have the feeling that the only reason the audience wasn’t singing along was because they didn’t know the words. I think that the lone groupie and I were overcompensating for the audience; when they played their tortured love jam, “Favorite Songs,” right at the end, we were howling shamelessly. Sometimes you just have to give in. And with that last “CRAAAAAZZZY” who wouldn’t want to?

The band meshes so well, it’s a little scary. Ben Coil on lead guitar will blow you away. I could have used some more solos from him. Lex’s raspy primal-sing vocals will have your ears orgasming and your heart breaking. Most of the songs are short, and all are to the point. The show could have had a little more flow and shorter pauses between songs, but the band is doing great for where they’re at developmentally.

Much to the surprise of the band, the crowd would not let them leave the stage without an encore. It was a little hilarious, because you could tell they weren’t prepared. They obviously weren’t ready to go off the set list, and Lex said as much.

The band still has that raw hopeful feel, which manifested with Lex jumping and writhing on the stage in true excitement. My favorite parts were when the three frontmen put their heads together for the choruses. The aww shucks smiles and evident joy-of-playing are adorably incongruous with the hardened lyrics of the music. It is that hot and fresh out of the oven feel that makes this band so worth seeing. Their next show is in Fairfax on August 14^th at Nineteenth Broadway and it’s free, so check it out!

Unfortunately I can’t refer to you how to get some Rattlesnakes! into your music library, but check them out on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/rattlesnakesmusic (with some extra music on Coil’s page at http://www.myspace.com/gunsfortots ). If you can listen to “Favorite Songs” without picturing yourself putting it on a mixtape for your next girlfriend and then listening to it crunched up on the floor crying after you break up, I’ll buy you a coke.

Posted in Concerts