Shoe-gazing might sound like a passive activity performed by nostalgic music fans, but when you combine the rhythmically methodical drums & bass and the heavy aluminum-necked guitar of The Gary, you might be inclined to add a tributary to the genre. As jazz pianist Thelonious Monk once said, “The genius is the one most like himself,” and that’s exactly what the Gary are. When The Gary prepare to play, their iconic vocalization of “Ready Gary?!” stokes the audience for the sounds to come. Jumping across the generation gap isn’t easy but The Gary make it look like a walk in the park, that is to say, a walk in a park full of memories of how music imparts wisdom through the ages.
The Gary recently made the Texas-leg of a tour with Mission of Burma, which they were vocally excited about, and it certainly showed in their performance. Their most recent release titled “Remains” sustains an energy of thoughtful distortion among today’s clean-cut pop culture. Nothing against today’s Top 40, but when you get tired of hearing the same song rehashed for the umpteenth time, check out The Gary and join the cult of followers. –Jake Lauterstein