09 Dec 11

"...Makeshift's the shit, huh?" ~ Amrita

Hey, blogspot readers, SouthSide's back on the beat this weekend! Tonight, she's rockin' a frosty Friday and full moon at Beat Kitchen to see longtime friends Amrita and Makeshift Prodigy. She highly recommends hitching a ride on an innerstellar craft and reach the outside the paradigm with the psychedelic/rock sounds of Amrita. What a rush too! This reviewer liked how this local band honed in as well as captured the 70s intergalatic rock sound and vibe yet with a millennial twist which was fast paced, full of Stax guitar riffs and melodic on the keyboards. Amrita pumped the growing crowd with bursting energy and momentum inside its wicked space fx - think of them as an indie version of Parliament Funkadelic (with Bernie Worrell on keys), Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd mixed together. Though the bass feedback (during the second song) was hard on the ears, Amrita's music at times took on a Zen-like appearance and atmosphere that highlighted the dynamic vocal energy of front man Aaron. What was totally missing from this opening set - an awesome lighting fx to highten the psychedelic experience and the band's rockin' music. Off the album - outside the paradigm, SouthSide highly recommends immersing the ears to sugar coated god phone, love then hate and the title track ...in no particular order either. For more information about Amrita, visit http://myspace.com/amritarock.

There are nights when a band could have a good or bad performance ...or something in between. This was one of those nights for SouthSide's good friend Makeshift Prodigy where they had a show that was neither good or bad - it was very mediocre. Usually this extraordinaire melodic rock band would takes its audience on a spiritual-awakening journey via sight (with its homemade stage lighting fx) and sound depending how the music affects the ears on a personal level, blogspot readers. However sadly for SouthSide there was no such journey with Makeshift due to a couple of reasons - one of which was no fault of the band. Opening with Mathematica (one of many favorite songs off the band's current album) and Alive, fans were certainly pumped from the powerfully inspirational lyrics and melodic energy. It's so amazing to observe how Makeshift's music positively would affect their diehard fans (as well as new listeners) on a deep personal level that would be totally different for each person attending. Yet, it was hard to enjoy her own personal experience because the sound was very overpowering (even with earplugs on) and totally distored Makeshift's electronic rhythms song after song except for Sirens - the only song this reviewer was able to tolerate. Besides performing other fan favorites like Sentimentalist and Blinding Lights, Makeshift debut new song A Way Out in which the energy was taken down a bit ...less ambient but more of a contemporary rock sound though sounding a little flat within a dull staccato melody. Another "dull" moment occurred during the solo acoustic performance by front man Anthony that had a good majority of their fans being unimpressed by his dynamic vocal demonstration and style thus nearly slowing down the set to a grinding halt. SouthSide does suggest to Makeshift into rethinking about using the bright stage lighting fx in a rather confined and small venue space like Beat Kitchen. Other venues like House of Blues, Metro or even Reggie's Rock Club would have been able to handle such of an fx without blinding most of the audience or causing light-sensitive headaches (as this reviewer experienced after the show). SouthSide does still recommend blogspot readers checking out her friend Makeshift Prodigy but hopes their next show is better than tonight's. For more information, visit http://www.makeshiftprodigy.com or on Facebook.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide.