Fusion Horned Devils

The Plus Ones close out a brassy night at Silhouette Lounge on Monday, 4 November 2024.

Ruby Grove and The Lights Out open the triplestack bill.

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The Lights Out

Some hard rock energy from The Lights Out. Maybe shades of a heavy Fleetwood Mac? And a touch of pre-grunge. Not proto-grunge. Don’t confuse pre- and proto- because there is a difference.

Pre-something is, musically, a sound that embodies a sonic era that is contiguous with whatever it comes before, but is otherwise distinct in all the ways that might be most relevant to pinning down a genre. In practice, the musicians in the pre-something band might go on to perform something music, but the band itself remains pre-. For example, you might call the Velvet Underground pre-punk. Definitely not punk, musically, but there’s an attitudinal kinship that can’t be dismissed out of hand.

Proto-something is, on the other hand, a sound that embodies in part the sonic signature that will be taken as representative of the something music. For that reason, people will often call the proto-something the “first” something, though these designations can feel forced. For example, you might call The Stooges a proto-punk band because the roadmap to the punk sonic signature is all there in more or less fleshed-out form. And depending on how strongly you believe that, you might go even farther and call The Stooges the “first” punk band.

But why? If ruminating on genre is a slightly pointless academic pursuit, then ruminating on what counts as the “first” of any broad-based musical movement is even more so.

Ruby Grove

Speaking of genre, we’ve often assigned Ruby Grove the descriptor “trip hop” in the past. Which was almost certainly an overstatement, but they have some trip hop elements, and there’s so few trip hop bands playing clubs these days that you trot out the rare genre descriptor when you get the chance.

Monday’s set at the Silhouette Lounge, though, was more 70s-scented rock fusion. Big synth, big guitar, rocking rhythm section. In what might have been a musical nod to the closing act, the fronter whipped out a trumpet to play a few bars in the middle of the set. And the group closed with their latest single “Crystal Land,” which sounds more and more like the opening theme for a James Bond film every time I hear it.

Also slotted Ruby Grove into the BMAde Betterz. Check it out.

The Plus Ones

Extra points straight off the bat for the band name, The Plus Ones. At one level the name flashes minimal wit – just a squat and stolid reference to a common term of the trade. The “plus one.” Maybe a wink at the friends and family who are always asking to be put on the list when they should just open their wallet and buy a damn ticket.

There’s another level to the name, though, because it’s the kind of band – with a horn section that extends as far as the eye can see – that can keep adding members unto infinity. The band keeps adding plus ones to its own roster.

The number of musicians in the band was eight on the night, and most of those were blowing a horn of some sort. Horns aside, shout out to the keytar player. You’ve now joined the elite and exclusive ranks of keytar coverage at Hump Day News.

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