Arab Strap, His Name Is Alive, A Whisper In The Noise - 27 Mar 06, Doug Fir Lounge, Portland, OR

I’ll be honest: I haven’t really been into Arab Strap’s musical evolution. Truth be told, I much prefer founding member Malcolm Middleton’s solo output these days. But those early ‘Strap albums accompanied me on many a long walk, so when I fumbled through the newspaper the other day and saw that they were playing with Detroit’s His Name Is Alive (another old fave of mine), I called up my concert-going pal Doug and we headed to the Doug Fir.

Whisper In The Noise: This band is from Minneapolis I think. They sounded like a cross between Nine Inch Nails and Idaho, but with more french horn. Their stage show had some theatrics to it — a projector displayed artsy images during certain songs. Doug got to the gig before I did, and told me that I missed some toy piano action during one of the first songs. Bummer.

His Name Is Alive: Speaking of musical evolution, here’s another band that I gave up on a few years ago. (I see a theme emerging here!) HNIA’s latest album is called Detrola, and judging by the songs I didn’t recognize tonight, I think it’s a jazz- electronica album . Warren Defever is still an experimental guitar genius, and still a master of the most unassuming stage banter I have ever heard.

Here’s the last song I loved from HNIA before I jumped ship (circa 1998):

His Name Is Alive - Wishing Ring

Arab Strap: I had no idea what these guys even looked like until tonight. I believe that says something about their approach. I was guilty of some lookism as I saw singer Aidan Moffat take the stage — all those years of listening to “Philophobia” and “Elephant Shoe” I pictured the frontman as a scrappy but delicate-looking soccer hooligan straight out of a Danny Boyle movie. No, Aidan is not from the movies (I think he looks like more of a high-school drama teacher), but knowing what I know now I think this lends some credibility to his lyrical bent. It’s not some Hollywood role he had to do research for — the agony is real.

As for the show, the band was great — very loud and rockin’. I was definitely feeling the vibe. Aidan’s vocals were the disappointment of the show for me, but I’m not sure that it had much to do with him. On the studio albums, the vocals are full and three-dimensional and blend in seamlessly with the music. But during tonight’s set, it felt like karaoke - Aidan singing over the top of the band. It didn’t mesh together. He was hard to hear. I’m thinking it was the sound, or my crappy ears, or maybe where I was sitting. And those vocals are so damned important. It was just less special than you find on the records.

I was telling Doug about this AC/DC cover that they did on one of their last EPs. Here it is, Doug (and the rest of you):

Arab Strap - You Shook Me All Night Long

Okay, cue post-show recap: not a bad show at all, especially for $10. Doug’s verdict: A Whisper In The Noise by a head. But let’s get back to the ticket price. How does such a bill survive on $10 a head?? All 3 bands each have 4+ members in their respective lineups. HNIA and Arab Strap each have over 5 albums in their discographies — they’ve both been around over 10 years. TEN DOLLARS?? I should’ve been gleeful as I handed over my cash, instead I felt a little cheap and dirty.

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