Using no guitars, no drums, nothing but a series of ELP-stacked keyboards (is the acronimity a coincidence? I think so), BT rock us with driving, heavy beats.
Whereas the other acts used the drums as accompaniment, Banco played them… slow. And heavy. I hate to say it – it sounded like a cheeze-metal power ballad.
The opinion of Jungle was that the sampled frenetic drums were impossible to play by a human. To this 808 State clearly and succinctly said, “Up Yours.”
A friend said they reminded her of Rage Against the Machine, but I think that was only because of their energy, more like some of Fishbone’s harder stuff.
I’ve never see a band keep a crowd going for so long, has so much energy, and is still so damn tight. They played most of their ska stuff towards the end.
Forty-five minutes into their Valentine’s Day show, the Oblivians put down their instruments, stood their ground, and made a demand of the house: More beer.