Psychic Ills, Prince Rama Of Ayodhya, Lord Jeff, Truman Peyote, Manners at Pierre Menard Gallery

This was a great show. But I have a feeling everyone else enjoyed it a lot more than I did. First of all, I had an excruciating headache that no amount of Excedrin would eliminate. And then there was the whole lineup changing thing. You see, it’s not very easy for me to get into Boston to see shows. I had to take Friday night off of work specifically to see this show at the Pierre Menard Gallery and I did it for Psychic Ills. Every other band playing the show is from Boston and I could see them pretty much whenever I felt like it. So the night was special because of Psychic Ills. They were "billed" (I use that term loosely) to go on second to last which was perfect because then I’d be able to catch the last train out of Boston at 12:10. But 3 things happened that made it impossible for me to watch the Psychic Ills’ set. 1: Late start, by like 45 minutes. Whatever. That’s better than Great Scott. 2: A last minute addition to the lineup (Manners). Usually I’m all for it but tonight I was in a bit of a rush so I didn’t really appreciate it. And 3: Psychic Ills were the last band to play. With all those things combined, there was absolutely no way I could get out of there by 11:30 and still see any of the Psychic Ills set. But enough whining because this show was still pretty awesome.

When Manners went on at about 8:45, there was only a handful of people in the gallery. Kinda sad considering the show was publicized as starting at 8. But Manners did their thing which was nice & chill. Like solid indie folk with a stand up bass. I didn’t think they had anything too special going for them but again, I wasn’t too pleased that they were playing. I’m sure I really would have been into them if I saw them a different time.

Then Truman Peyote came on and all of a sudden the gallery was packed. Maybe 30-40 people had showed up and I didn’t even notice. The lights went out, everyone stood up (stark contrast to the sit down affair for Manners) and got ready to party. Truman Peyote played some real crowd pleasers (even if the crowd didn’t necessarily know who TP was) and some (probably) underage girls were getting their groove on in a (somewhat) annoying way. But I understand the desire to shake your thing when the Peyote is playing and Friday night was no different. With the small exception of semi-sloppy crossovers in between their songs, Truman Peyote delivered.

Lord Jeff was the biggest surprise of the night. A 3 piece with a lead singer that looks like Devendra Banhart and plays garage rock. Was not expecting a band like this to be playing with Psychic Ills and co. But the thing was, they were fucking awesome and didn’t seem out of place at all. They borrowed quite heavily from ’50s blues rock and, wait for it… doo-wop. I swear, one of the songs they played sounded like it could have been a cover of "Sixteen Candles." Speaking of covers, they played "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and it rocked. They had tons of energy and Mr. Banhart could shred some nasty solos so needless to say, I was very pleased.

As sad as I was that Prince Rama Of Ayodhya went on next instead of the more coveted Psychic Ills, I can’t say I was even a little disappointed. They handed out little noisy instruments to all the people standing in the front and the four of them started chanting, conjuring up a lovely dancer from the depths of the gallery’s basement. Once she arrived, the band members stationed themselves at their proper places and went to town while the princess danced for us all. It was a wonderful way to start a show, especially for a band like Prince Rama, who’s music is deserving of such a sight. After the first song, the dancer retreated to the basement and Prince Rama continued their exuberant and fun filled set with dual drum pummelers, plenty of exotic electronics, and more chanting. These guys are simply amazing live and if they ever come near you, it’s certainly worth a trip to see them.

And here is where the Psychic Ills part of my review would be had I been able to stay long enough to see them. Still, 5 bucks for 4 fantastic bands? Can’t really complain. Here’s hoping the Pierre Menard Gallery decides to put on more shows like this.