South San Gabriel, One (1) Baptist General, Centro-Matic (11.19.08)

the Band: South San Gabriel, One (1) Baptist General, Centro-Matic
the Date: Wed November 19, 2008
the Venue: Rock and Roll Hotel (DC)

(Photo credit to Ash Crowe and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/ashcrowe/)

South San Gabriel opened. Now, that’s a bit misleading because South San Gabriel is actually an offshoot project of the headliner, Centro-Matic. The difference here being they take four core members of Centro-Matic and add a few additional members to go for a more subdued sound. Their set was well played and a great way to start out the night.

The lead singer from the Baptist Generals, a small indie band from Centro-Matic’s hometown of Denton, Tex-ass, played solo acoustic next. Get it? He was just One (1) Baptist General. Ha! Anyways, I don’t know much about the Baptist Generals, but I like what I heard.

(Photo credit to Ash Crowe and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/ashcrowe/)

Centro-Matic took to the stage around 10:30 and played a full hour and a half. The band consists of Will Johnson (lead vocals, guitar), Scott Danbom (vocals, violin, keyboards, bass), Mark Hedman (bass, guitar), and Matt Pence (drums). These guys have been making killer music for some twelve years and they played killer music tonight.

This was probably the best Centro-Matic show I’ve seen. Will and the band were in good spirits and kept referring to their joy over the recent Obama win. Ahhh, another reason I love these guys. I feel like they played just about all of my favorites. They even performed the English Beat’s Save it for Later in their encore that took everyone by surprise and blew most of us away.

Full setlist: Love You Just the Same / Fountains of Fire / Call the Legion in Tonight / Flashes and Cables / Good As Gold / Mighty Midshipmen / The Rat Patrol and DJs / Quality Strange / I, The Kite / Covered Up in Mines / Calling Thermatico / Saving a Free Seat / Supercar / Blisters May Come / Strahan Has Corralled the Freaks /ENCORE / Save It For Later (The English Beat cover) / ?

just a reminder to all of us
that you ain’t the superstar
that we once thought you were ...

These United States, the M’s, Centro-Matic (06.18.08)

the Band: These United States, the M's, Centro-Matic
the Date: Wed June 18, 2008
the Venue: Rock and Roll Hotel (DC)
 

(Photo credit to Jeremy Johnson and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/specialedge/)

There were two opening bands, These United States and the M's. We totally missed These United States, but caught the last half of the M's set. They were pretty darn good. I think they're from Chicago. There were a lot of fans there just to see the M's I think, cuz the crowd thinned a bit after they finished … what fools they were!

Centro-Matic came on stage around ten-ish and simply rocked the socks off of everyone there. The band is from Denton, Texas and consists of Will Johnson (lead vocals, guitar), Matt Pence (drums), Mark Hedman (guitar), and Scott Danbom (synthesizer, bass guitar). Just so you know, these guys have another band called South San Gabriel made up of the same foursome but adding a few additional friends to the mix. Will Johnson has also put out some solo work and in 2006 toured around with the indie rock "supergroup" known as The Undertow Orchestra, which included members David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion), Mark Eitzel (of American Music Club) and Vic Chestnutt.

I've been a big fan of Centro-Matic for some time now … ever since I saw them open for My Morning Jacket in a little club in Houston called the Engine Room back in 2004. They have been around for something like twelve years and just released their 8th album Dual Hawks (a split/double album with their alter-ego South San Gabriel), that's aside from the 4 Centro-Matic EPs, the 3 South San Gabriel albums, and the 2 Will Johnson solo albums. These Texans have put out a whole heck of a lot of music!

(Photo credit to Bill Ellison and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/billellisonphotographer/)

The show was nothing but entertaining. There were sweet serenades and kick-you-in-the-crotch rock and roll tunes. No matter what, Will's raspy singing and signature kicks carried us through the nearly two hour set. The setlist itself was a perfect blend of the new and old tunes. My favorites were To Unleash the Horses Now, Flashes and Cables (simply AMAZING), Rat Patrol and DJs (nice tune), Supercar (absolutely must be heard live), The Blisters May Come (they completely rocked the crap out of this song), and of course All the Lighting Rods (which Will sang solo with an acoustic guitar). What a show! Please, Will, bring your trucker cap full of rock and roll back to DC … we'll keep the porch light on for you.

Full setlist: Post-It Notes from the State Hospital / Fountains of Fire / To Unleash the Horses Now / Flashes and Cables / The Mighty Midshipman / Rat Patrol and DJs / I, The Kite / Argonne Limit Co. / All Your Farewells / Calling Thermatico / Strychnine, Breathless Ways / Guillotines Hung Together / Supercar / Huge in Every City / Strahan Has Corralled the Freaks / The Blisters May Come / ENCORE / All the Lightning Rods

if we found the time
if we found the merriment
if we found the words
we'd scratch them in new cement ...

Willy Mason, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket (09.16.04)

the Band: Willy Mason, Centro-Matic, My Morning Jacket
the Date: Thursday September16, 2004
the Venue: Engine Room (Houston)

(Photo credit to Clifford Layne and his Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/85736546@N00/)

It was just before the weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival. Luck for us, a few of the bands playing ACL came down to Houston for a quick show.

Willy Mason opened. He was chill.

Centro-Matic was next. I had never heard of this band before, but once they started playing, I became an instant fan. Centro-Matic is out of Denton, Texas and consists of Will Johnson (vocals/guitar), Matt Pence (drums), Scott Danborn (piano/violin), and Mark Hedman (bass). They put on an awesome show. Will Johnson had this rich, smoky toned voice that was just amazing. This was alt-country at its finest. My favorite tune of theirs was Love You Just the Same.  I picked up a short stack of their CDs at the merch table.

(Photo credit to Susan Malmrose and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/whenigodeaf/)

My Morning Jacket was the headliner. The band, made up of Jim James (vocals/guitar), Tom Blankenship (bass), Patrick Hallahan (drums), Carl Broemel (guitar), and Bo Koster (keyboard), is out of Louisville, Kentucky. I had heard of My Morning Jacket and even had one of their CDs, Acoustic Citsuoca. Even then, I wasn’t prepared for what I was about to experience. I was absolutely blown away. I really enjoyed seeing hairball, Jim James, wearing a blazer (a.k.a. his morning jacket) and just rocking the hell out of the Engine Room.

There were a few songs, Golden, Death Is the Easy Way, and Bermuda Highway, where the lead singer from Centro-Matic, Will Johnson (with a can of beer in his hand and a trucker cap on his head), came out to join Jim James. The duo’s fuzzed-out harmonies were truly something to see. This was the perfect combination and my favorite moments of the night. What an incredible night of Southern Rock n’ Roll!

(Photo credit to Susan Malmrose and her Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/people/whenigodeaf/)

Full setlist (not from this show, but from a show around this time … sorry, best I could do): How Could I Know (Oxen) / Just One Thing / It Beats 4 U / Lowdown / The Way That He Sings / Golden (w/Will Johnson) / Death Is the Easy Way (w/Will Johnson) / Bermuda Highway (w/Will Johnson) / How Do You Know / One Big Holiday / Strangulation / Dancefloors / Mahgeetah / ENCORE / Cobra / Steam Engine / Run Thru


Oh, don’t carve me out, don’t let your silly dreams
Fall in between the crack of the bed and the wall …