The May Fire
|
Tour Dates 08/06/08 San Diego, CA Beauty Bar
08/07/08 LA, CA Knitting Factory 08/08/08 San Clemente, CA OC Tavern 08/09/08 Pomona, CA Glass House 08/11/08 Phoenix, AZ Modified 08/12/08 Las Vegas, NV The Mirage 08/13/08 Tucson, AZ Sharks 08/14/08 El Paso, TX Take 2 08/15/08 Austin, TX Antones 08/16/08 Monterrey, Mexico El Garage 08/18/08 Dallas, TX Club Dada 08/19/08 Houston, TX Warehouse Live 08/20/08 Manhattan, KS Kathouse 08/21/08 Bridgeport, IL Friendly Fire 08/22/08 Chicago, IL The Metro 08/24/08 Minneapolis, MN 400 Bar 08/25/08 St. Paul, MN Eclipse 08/27/08 Omaha, NE Shea Riley’s 08/28/08 Englewood, CO Falcon Bowl 08/29/08 SL City, UT Burts Tiki Lounge 08/30/08 Nampa. ID Flying M Coffee 09/01/08 Portland, OR East End 09/02/08 Seattle, WA High Dive 09/03/08 Eugene, OR WOW Hall 09/04/08 SF, CA Red Devil Lounge 09/05/08 Walnut Creek, CA Betty’s Rock 09/06/08 Monterey, CA Underground 09/07/08 Salinas, CA Fox Theatre 09/08/08 Fresno, CA Audie’s Olympic 09/10/08 Oakland, CA The Uptown 09/11/08 Reno, NV Satellite 09/12/08 San Jose, CA Blank Club 09/13/08 Bakersfield, CA Narducci’s 09/14/08 Victorville, CA Karma |
San Francisco’s The May Fire has a certain sort of Sonic Youth/Sleater-Kinneynity (Sleater-Kinnectivity?) that while not unique, is surprisingly pleasing in a familiar sort of way – like accidentally discovering that the bistro down the street makes pasta that tastes almost like mom used to make. The May Fire’s newest EP, “The List,” released today, is actually the third installment of a trilogy of bite-sized offerings. Having not actually heard the previous two EPs, I’m only left to assume that this album has context in a measure of the whole… whether that’s a reasonable assumption, I don’t know. What I do know is that this particular fuzzy, noise rock offering is fun, a nice summer riot enjoyably reminiscent of early 90’s girl grunge.
Lead singer Catty Tasso has a voice built for this sort of unpolished, raw rock – deep, scratchy and with modest range – and I mean that affectionately. I mean; it works. For the most part. The album has its flashes of talent and its occasional shades of mediocrity, but the whole offering is carried by the fourth track, “Under The Wave.” After I’ve listened to the first three tracks and the fourth begins to fade in, I feel much as the parent of a “C” student who finally brings home an “A” paper who berates “This just proves you can do it. Now I expect you to get an ‘A’ every time.”
Unreasonable? Probably. But the “Under The Wave” track takes what would normally be just a passable EP and ramps it up a notch, proving that the May Fire, with a little more study, can yet become a band that ruins the grading curve for everybody else.
)