SOULWARMING

By: B

You aren't sure what to expect from the Gomez concert. Gomez may be that band with a great first album but have since been underachieving, but you don't want to believe it. You like Gomez; there was a point in time when they were your favorite. But still… you aren't sure. The location for the show (The Quest in Minneapolis) is disappointing, the time (8 pm) is unfortunate and the show isn't sold out. You want to be jazzed, but as a well-traveled concertgoer you can't help but notice the warning signs.

You don't know how to describe Gomez's music to your friends. They are British, but don't sound like the Beatles or Oasis or Travis. You use the phrase “dense pop” but only because it sounds like something a pompous music critic would say. They are just heavier, darker, with more instruments. The lead singer's deep, scratchy voice is surely a unique element, as is their versatility. Gomez can play a song for a drunken police chase after a robbery and follow it with a tranquil Sunday drive in the country with your girlfriend. Every song is busy and thick with sounds. Gomez sounds like the Stone Roses in a way, but more recognizable and more appropriate at a college party.

Gomez walks on stage; six white boys from across the pond. The room is still dark when the haunting “Get Miles” begins. This is the opening track from Gomez's debut album, Bring It On. The minute-long instrumental intro makes your heart jump a bit. This song changed you; when you were in college, sick of the same old shit, this particular song turned on a light in your head. When Ben Ottewell, one of three lead singers, starts screaming out the lyrics, you feel distinct chills. Ottewell's voice sounds similar to Tom Waits'; a deep, sandpaper cry from the toes. His eyes are squeezed shut, his head cocked and tilted upwards and his hands are tightly clasped behind his back as he belts out a parting song to the world (“I love this planet, man/But this planet's killing me”). The other band members are barely moving- or if they are you can't see them. Once the chorus emerges, dark red spotlights replace the blackness. You are having an acid trip in a darkroom.

Things don't slow down for a while. Next is the upbeat “Shot Shot” from their latest album, In Our Gun. Decidedly more pop friendly and bubbly, Ian Ball takes the vocals. Weighing about 130 pounds, Ball's slightly whiny voice is similar to Oasis's front man. “Shot Shot” is danceworthy. You move a little bit.

After “Love is Better Than a Warm Trombone,” Gomez plays their first new song of the night. “Catch Me Up” is sung by the jovial Tom Gray, the band's third vocalist. It's more acoustic and clean, lacking the dark blues of Bring It On and the techno tinge of In Our Gun. When the middle of the show hits, the mood slows and the music sags a bit. You still don't want to move.

Throughout the show, Gomez engages in minimal yet friendly banter with the crowd. At one point, Ball asks simply, “Do you like Gomez?” It sounds sophomoric but earnest, adding to the notion that the Gomez boys could have been your college neighbors. Not wanting to grow up, not wanting to be too serious, they mill around on-stage, each taking its turn at singing and otherwise filling the gaps. Gray sings many of the new songs. The tracks from the upcoming album sound distinctively more American, something like The Suburbs plus The Band. The words are clear and the sound is clean.

The show has its highs and its lows. You realize halfway through that it isn't quite perfect- the pedestrian tracks don't improve enough live. However, the finest tracks from the albums are magnificent in front of you. “Here Comes the Breeze” is part love song, part Stone Roses tribute. “Revolutionary Kind” is different live, paced slower and more drawn out. This is the closest Gomez comes to epic. It ends the set, but nothing is quite as thrilling as the end of the encore, “Whippin' Piccadilly.” A fast, funky pop song, it's great on Bring It On - maybe the best. You soon realize that the concert version is even better. At one point, Ball turns his mic to everyone in the crowd.

At that very moment, you are staring at a band that can't see you. They are playing their music, and you are 60 feet away, grinning like a goon and trying to sing along. It's a big world out there, but here you are, holding your drink high above your head and whooping it up to show your approval. For a brief moment you are part of it all. The show ends shortly after and you and the other believers reluctantly head toward the exit sign.

You work long hours and relish your Friday nights as an outlet of pent-up stress. After the show, it's only 10 PM But as you shiver in anticipation of the subzero weather conditions, you feel satisfied. At once, Gomez eased your stress from the previous week and satisfied your weekend wants. You zip up your jacket and run to the car, contemplating which Gomez CD to listen to on the way home.

POP RATING: 8.5

CRITICAL RATING: 7.5

B'S RATING: 8.1

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