Sitting at the computer last night, my e-mail blinked at me with a message entitled “UK Rock/Soul Band The Heavy Plays Silver Moon.” I stared at the e-mail subject line, figuring that it must be referring to some other Silver Moon in some other town.
But no, the much-hyped UK act is actually coming to little ol’ Bend for a show on Wednesday, October 28 (9pm, $10 with Mosley Wotta opening) sandwiched between tour dates at Slim’s in San Francisco the night prior at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge the night after. That’s important to note because both of those are high-profile, cooler-than-cool rock clubs. Well, add Silver Moon to that list…right?
The Heavy made a big splash at 2008’s South by Southwest festival and have since gained a following in the states that will likely grow in the coming weeks and months after the band releases its second full-length record, The House That Dirt Built –which comes out tomorrow. The band purveys a sound that is what I’d expect to come as a result of a collaboration between James Brown and the Black Keys. It’s incredibly soulful, with front man Kelvin Swaby’s voice melting nicely into a sea of horns, but the band often ventures into more distorted, more experimental grounds that might seem out of bounds within the soul realm.
Here’s a video of the cut “How You Like Me Now?” from the new album.
This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2009.
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