RECYCLED RUINS, MECCANISM, AMIR TAL, THE UMS

Come On and Move It (Published in OCB 1-12-07)

Even though Orlando is a sprawling wasteland of transients, one great aspect of our city is that on any given night you can see an ass-load of shows. Granted, they may not all be Radiohead quality shows, but there are people making art. This being said, Orlandonians should move their ass and experience some freaking Florida culture.

The first place I took my ass this week was to Uncle Lou's on Wednesday. At first glance the four-piece, Recycled Ruins seemed like a normal punk outfit: inexpensive gear, drab clothing with stern faces. There were no petals, effects, or fancy equipment yet they still enforced a loud, high-quality set of punk-rock songs. Singer, Chad Puntel had a mottled, quick approach with his lyrics and the tone Adam Tomas' guitar was very classical sounding. The drums were tuned perfectly and had a warm, consistent sound which makes a huge impact in a diminutive venue. In a time when bands commonly use separate guitars for every key change or auto-tuned, unpracticed vocals, the Ruins fashioned a lucid and congeal set with some punk know-how and a lot of musical aptitude.

Thursday my fiancé and I set out for Orlando Brewery to see Bob "Stormcrow" Sanders. However, being a brewery they only offer beer, no food or virgin beverages (we're trying to dry out a bit). We didn't want to take a table up and just drink water, so we dipped out. The first few strums that I heard from Bob sounded very nice though.

So, to substitute the beer we settled for caffeinated beverages at Austin's Coffee and Film. We were greeted by a hippy girl named Mecca and sat for some world music. The five piece was aptly named Meccanism and consisted of an acoustic guitars, bongo drums, a flute, and a saxophone. The music was whimsical and new-age. The musicians were up-beat and talented, but Mecca's voice was pretty unbearable. She would begin sweet and sultry then went on an off-key, screaming tirade. Aiming for Lilith Fair chick rock, her pipes just didn't take her there.

After Austin's we continued our culture marathon at Tatamé to hear Amir tal, an acoustic guitarist/singer accompanied with a lap-top, button-pushing percussionist. I ordered an apple cider and found some wobbly, square cushion seats to prop ourselves up on. Amir's extremely expensive Taylor guitar (were talking about two grand) was played skillfully. He had some originals that mimicked a young Cat Stevens and also did some Zeppelin covers. All would have been well if it hadn't been for the drum machine guy. At the end of each verse he would use his chime effect, which really just cheesed everything up and his beats were a bit off.

The evening rounded out at Backbooth for the Tallahassee based band, The Ums. During their sound check they looked like scrawny band kids, which they were, but ended up being so much more. The five geek-rockers entertained a multiplicity of different styles spanning from Phish-esque hippy bouts, to R&B songs, to Weezer tinged pop-rock songs. Their lyrics were amusing and reminded me of They Might Be Giants. My favorite song "Drive Through Lover," was sung in a Barry White voice and conjured up analogies of fast food to explain a sexy romance. Each of the gangly bunch switched instruments (which consisted of a cello, synthesizer, and the norms of a rock band) throughout the set and sang prodigious harmonies. The Ums had a dorky, charming panache and again proved that Florida is not just a place for hill-billies and boy bands. There is culture to been seen (weather it's off-beat or amazing), you just have to get off your asses and see for your selves!