Besides my taking truly ghastly pictures of them both, hard rock, hip hop party band Shinobi Ninjas and jersey shore bar prog-rock wall of guitar band Saturday Astrology would appear to have little in common. Not true. They are actually both big time crowd pleasers. Late last night at Mercury Lounge every member of two entire bands, twelve people in total, were centers of attention in a whirlygig of sound and motion.
Yeah, I realize I suck at pictures as bad as I do at life can we now move on? Saturday Astrology were all business with the lead singer (Ryan O’Donnell? Cmon guys, your website is hardly a wealth of info) though they don’t look like it. They look like a college band performing Bob Seger covers and play like rich kids discovering Robert Fripp.
It is a well constructed set, sturdy stuff, with the entire band moving and shredding and the lead singer howling in the mic and dripping with seat on a real keeper (and not recorded yet?) “Fireball”.
But there is a problem with SA and before I tell you what it is I will tell you what it ain’t. It ain’t the playing, the guitarist is especially awesome, and it ain’t the look or the ability to maintain the attention of at least one bloke who had never heard of them before.
They are raucuous and serious and their buddies who were being a bit of a nuisance didn’t get through to them at all except to make em smile and kid around with the entire audience.
So what’s the problem?
The best song of the night is a cover of a number I have never heard before “Five Against War”. The problem? Their own material could be a bit stronger. I listened to their “old shit” and the songs click better there but they need to work better on stage. They need to write a coupla killer melodies, as good as “Color Me In Love” from the EP.
In the meantime? No problems, Saturday Astrology is the real deal and their audience is finding them.