Tuesday was the last residency show for Writer at Pianos – they played every Tuesday this past month, with the exception of one, and they went out with a “ghettotech garage rock” brotherly bang. Writer is the brainchild of two brothers from San Diego who now reside in Brooklyn, and together make what is something like a grungier version of Portland’s Quasi, with San Diego sunshine filtered through Brooklyn grit. So naturally, their live show was like standing at the peak of a good music trifecta, with influences from three opposite corners of the country converging into crunchy lo-fi harmony.
Then, imagine that but louder, and with even more variance of percussion. Of “The Brothers Ralph,” Andy was primarily on guitar and synth, with Brother Ralph James on drums and button pressing bass chord changes. They had images projected behind them of all kinds of random things, like scenes that looked like they could be from X-Files, people spinning in teacups on the Disney ride, and these giant grasshoppers chilling on blades of grass, just like the big bright pink and yellow ones I used to see in my backyard in Florida. They played mostly tracks from Brotherface, like “Cash for Gold,” which they recently made a video for, and “Family Dinner,” which really reminds me of Caveman’s “Thankful,” in a fond way.
They had a pretty good crowd, not unlike their previous residency shows, and a lot of the folks were apparently friends or collaborators, or friends of one or the other. Andy pointed out one group, “ I think all the girls in the front row right here were in the first music video we did,” to giggles of affirmation, and one gleeful response of, “It was so much fun!” Comradery and family carry through as a strong underlying theme that The Brothers Ralph carry through all their art together. Their blood bond is obviously important and meaningful to them, beyond what most siblings exhibit. That also carries through their harmonizing and timing. They were always perfectly together, like one person singing with two heads.
This feel was most enunciated on their last song, when they ended with James coming out from behind his kit and taking over on synth, while Andy stepped back and banged the tambourine like he meant it on a stripped-down slower number. They both sang into the same mic, making for a warmer familial moment that was palpable in the hazy red-lit space.
Writer is laying low show-wise for the month or so, taking some time to record new material, but look out for them at SXSW, and more dates to come. Connect and find out more on Facebook and Twitter, and pick up tracks at Bandcamp.
Like us on Facebook at BestNewBands.com and follow us on Twitter at @BestNewBandscom and@DansonsEncore
