Live Music Review: The Starlight Mints and Evangelicals
By Jordan ShroyerMonday, July 6, 2009
OTownStyle.com's Jordan Shroyer checked out one of his old favorites from college, the Starlight Mints, at the Social recently. They were supported by the Evangelicals.
The Evangelicals: "A drugged-out version of the killers."
I didn't know what to expect from Evangelicals, a band I'd never heard -- let alone heard of. As they set up, I could tell they were the pretentious type; they radiated it. For a band like that, I immediately set high expectations because if you're going to be pretentious, you'd better have a reason.
With the least ironic move of the evening, the Evangelicals began their set by preaching, "Do you know where you're going to go when you die?" over a droning guitar for about a minute before launching into a verse of straight up rock n' roll. I was immediately impressed, and begin to think I'm about to spend the next half hour of my life doing something meaningful. They vaguely remind me of a drugged-out version of the Killers. About midway through the second song, I realized I was way off: they continued to drag on what sounded like the same mediocre song, looping over and over. Okay, there was one really cool classic rock riff in the third to last song, but other than that... bleh.
The Starlight Mints: A Blast from the (College) Past
Up next were the Starlight Mints, a band I enjoyed during my freshman year of college (back in 2003), but haven't heard much from since. Before they went on, I began to feel pity for them. After nearly 12 years of touring, they were only able to get about a hundred or so people to sacrifice $12 and an evening on their show. The performance wasn't a let down, but it didn't really have any gratifying moments either. They played as a five-piece, with the lead male vocals of Allen Vest and female harmonies by keyboardist Mariana Love being the focal point of the band's archetypal pop songs.
Though their tunes may have lacked in hooks, they kept the crowd's attention through creativity. I can't recall any two songs sounding alike. They added a visual element by projected videos synchronized to each of the songs on a huge white banner behind them. One my biggest disappointments was the overuse of sampling. On their albums, they use a wide array of instruments -- such as horns, bells and strings -- but fail to bring any along for the live performance.
I wasn't blown away, but impressed enough to give their new album a good listen. The Starlight Mints' new album, Change Remains, is due out on July 21st on Barsuk Records.
