The Randies Rock Colorado
January 25, 2007 – Surfside 7, Ft. Collins, CO
January 26, 2007 – Lion’s Lair, Denver CO
Laura, Sienna and Laurita of The Randies.
The Randies came to Colorado on their third nationwide tour of the past year and helped break a cold spell with two revealing performances.
The Randies aren’t shy and began their sets with three of their hardest-rocking songs: “Wrecking Ball,” which shows off lead singer Sienna DeGovia’s voice, “Freezerburn,” carried by Laurita Guaico’s guitar riffs, and “Thought I Could Change,” where Sienna confesses her punk-fueled aspirations to break the popular mold.
Many girl rock bands fall into the boy-toy category: either candy-coated sweetness or i’ve-got-balls-too rockers. The Randies are just a rock band who happen to be mostly female. They definitely are not to be toyed with, but they aren’t against using some of their feminine advantages to make a better rock song.
For example, one of their trademarks are intertwining harmonies which add depth and brightness to each song. Also, their lyrics are often about their feelings and desires – something that male rockers seem to have trouble exposing.
Lead singer and bass player Sienna DeGovia has a powerful voice and statuesque stage presence, but apparently doesn’t have the matching ego as she frequently gives way to her two bandmates, guitarists Laura Cataldo and Laurita Guaico, who also take turns as lead singers.
Over the past year The Randies have become more confident on stage and more synced when playing together. They played two new songs, “Luxury” and “Lone Star,” which promise more great songs in the future. According to Sienna and Laurita, they spend much of their travel time singing and writing new songs.
Their latest album, Saw the Light, is full of guitar rock but is not easily compared to any other band’s catalog. You can buy it on iTunes or at Amazon
One of the pleasures of seeing a band perform live several times is watching them change and grow. The Randies are becoming an accomplished rock band with a catalog of great songs and are developing the confidence to match their talents. Hopefully you will be able to catch them on this tour and see for yourself. They will be spending February in the New York City area playing in several different clubs. Keep tabs on their myspace site for the latest concert info and for song samples.
Watch the video for “Thought I Could Change.”
Viva Voce concert review
Viva Voce
Hi-Dive, Denver, CO 10-24-2006
One of the joys of going to live concerts is discovering a band that you immediately fall in love with. It doesn’t happen often enough, but when it does there is no feeling like it. Last night watching Viva Voce warm-up at the Hi-Dive in Denver I had no idea what to expect from this two-person band from Portland, Oregon. Perhaps that is a big part of the joy – the surprise of it all.
A casual sound-check on the small stage unexpectedly turned into an assualt by Anita Robinson, whose deft fingers squeezed a satisfyingly scrunchy sound from her guitar, overwhelming the crowd. From the first chord it was obvious who was in control. The crowd immediately submitted, open-mouthed, to her talented fingers.
There is a dichotomy between the way Anita looks on stage and the way she plays her guitar. Just to look at her you might think “kind and gentle,” but your ears say “guitar-shredding goddess.” Interestingly, her singing is more in line with the initial assessment, providing a dreamy backdrop to the guitar-driven plot of each song.
It took a few minutes to wrest my attention from Anita’s guitar to her husband who was providing the drumbeat, assorted vocals and occasional yelps of joy. He took over lead vocals on several songs and provided more direction to those tunes than the dream-driven songs Anita sang lead on.
But I was smitten by Anita’s guitar, and wanted more of her ministrations. Bands are often more style than substance and it is rare to find somebody who is as apparently accomplished as this couple are.
An obvious comparison is with The White Stripes, who also feature a drummer and talented guitarist. But where Jack White is shredding and screams, Anita is deft and subdued, more psychedelic than metal.
Viva Voce used backing tracks to provide a bass-line on several songs. At some stops on this tour they have had a live bassist on stage to replace the soundtrack, but in a way I am glad I was able to just focus on the two of them.
Of course now I am delving into their back-catalog of albums, in addition to their new 2006 release “Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
The rawness of the two of them on stage is not to be missed if you enjoy real guitar-driven rock by a band who obviously enjoys what they do.
- Mark Tatum
