The Dan Brother Band, Live At Oasis, New Paltz 8/14/08

On a steady diet of rum-and-Cokes last Thursday, I saw some pretty wild music. The evening started out pretty mellow: I drove to New Paltz out of pure and utter boredom, looked around the town's much-beloved independent music store, made an impulse buy (wait until Thursday for more on that), went to the bar, had a beer, walked around town to see what was happening, went back to the bar, had another beer, and pondered just where I had heard the name "Dan Brother Band." They were the band playing at Oasis that night, and the name sounded dreadfully familiar. So I stuck around to find out who they were. As it turns out, the name was familiar because I had seen a myspace bulletin regarding the theft of Dan Brother's guitars and gear sometime last year. Not one to let that rather infuriating hurdle stop him, Dan has since replaced his lost equipment and continues to fight on.

The evening was bizarre on some notes. In a night-long fog of beer and rum (for a change, this blog lives up to its name), I saw strange men acting strangely in sunglasses and tie-dye t-shirts, had discussions outside with random college acquaintances regarding proper dental care, and discussed Max Rebo with the bassist's wife, a fellow underpaid English major.

Enough digressions; let's get to the music. The Dan Brother Band, as far as local blues rock goes, is exemplary. I've seen numerous local bands in this genre, and these guys are truly cut from better cloth. Dan Brother is a quick and vicious guitar player as well as a melodious singer. Dan Brother: the f#cker can shred. An unfortunate tendency in some of the younger blues rockers is attempting to sound like they're about 50 and smoke three packs a day; Brother doesn't do that. He may be sounding kind of rough, but that's what the genre calls for.

The band is tight. They work really well together and bring the rock. Timing is spot on, solos don't go longer than they need to, everything falls into place beautifully. One particular item of note was a bass solo (courtesy bassist Jason Upchurch) that featured elements of "Smooth Criminal," which was really wild.

Brother also appears to be a heck of a Hendrix fan. The band performed "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and "All Along the Watchtower," all in a Hendrix style. I don't mind much because Hendrix was and still is phenomenal, and I'm glad that Brother and company feel the same way. If anything, the number of Hendrix-styled material, be they covers or covers styled like other covers, displays the potency of the band's playing, and also links me neatly to my next point.

While I feel that The Dan Brother Band is the best local blues rock band I've seen, I also feel that they could benefit by expanding their horizons. There's a large number of blues rockers in this area; the arena is overflowing, so perhaps changing gears a bit would be a good thing. Set themselves apart from the crowd. Experimenting never hurts, and they're too damn talented to hang around this stagnant pool. But even if they keep going the way they are now, they still put on a great show. I usually don't go in for this kind of music, and they kept my (somewhat hazy) attention for most of the set. No other blues rock band in my life has retained my attention, drunk or not, for almost three hours.

By 1:40am, the audience seemed to have thinned. The only people by then who appeared to still be enjoying the music were the gay couple who ruled the dance floor. I was beyond tired and left twenty minutes later during the band's second break. I wish I could have stayed until the end of their set, but time and long drives were not conducive to staying an extra hour. Not once in the time I was watching them did they ever falter, screw up a song, or lose their energy. I can only assume they continued with the same fervor they started out with and left the crowd pleased.

I'm glad I stuck around for the music based solely on that vague recollection of stolen gear. The Dan Brother Band is incredibly adept at what they do, so if blues rock is your thing, I'd recommend checking them out.



The Dan Brother Band is:
Jason Upchurch: bass
Rob Curtis: drums
Dan Brother: guitar/vocals

The Dan Brother Band at myspace

photo: Dan Brother on the back porch of The Corner Stage, 368 E. Main Street, Middletown NY
photo by: Michael Bloom

/Remind me to avoid $1 rack drinks in the future.
/Also, remind me to bring a camera next time I check out live music; I wish I had some shots from the show to post here.