Everyone was singing, "LAWD ALMIGHTY!!!" at the Temptation Club in Murfreesboro on Saturday night, joining Nashville band The Grayces on their catchy-as-hell song "Yep." (For the record the song was such a hit that it continued to be requested even after it had already been played). Alongside The Grayces were Murfreesboro bands Oliver Fist and +Friends.
Oliver Fist offered a very intriguing performance of New Wave/Grunge, paired with singer Eric King’s indecent but clever lyrics, and his nervously uttered David Byrne/Mick Jagger growl. +Friends was quite the contrast from the other bands, consisting of several members from Murfreesboro group Hanzelle. The +Friends performance was worthy of being listened to by the most elite group of sound nerds, given that they devoted more time to adjusting the levels and sound system in the room than to actually playing. The group’s experimental "smart rock" featured complicated time signatures and a natural groove, admirably building up the anticipation for the long-awaited set by headliner The Grayces.
After seeing the Graces play it wasn’t hard to see why the garage-punk trio has been taking the local dives by storm, what with their fuzzy power chords and grinding rhythms. The band – comprised of lead singer/guitarist Murielle Rae, drummer Gaelen Mitchell and bassist Patrick Blackwell – churned their way through a whole set of garage punk rock tunes, characterized by the moans and wails of their moody singer. With the cranked distortion, lo-fi crunch and so much personality in Rae’s voice and delivery, The Grayces sounded sort of like The Kills, but with less pop; or The Stooges if they were stranded in Tennessee for most of their career. At one point they halted their raunchiness with a laid-back, trippy, spoken number (although this may have been an improvisational exercise) where Rae’s vocal wanderings trailed along behind the band’s vamping. It was difficult to tell if she was bored or merely feeling creative, but regardless, this chick had Grace Slick written all over her.
If you haven’t been able to catch The Grayces yet, you should definitely go see them at their CD release show on March 13th at The End. See Flyer Above. – Erin Manning