THE HERMS
THE MAY FIRE
THE PASSIONISTAS
Bottom of the Hill
July 12, 2007

I hadn’t planned on seeing the Passionistas but I caught their last three songs. Initially, I was repulsed by their lack of musical talent, but I dug the singer who was ranting like a boyish Mark E. Smith. It wasn’t until the last song, “Banana,” that it finally clicked for me. The singer picked up the guitar and, wishing humiliation on someone who let him down, I saw a new age Stephen Malkmus. Keep them on the radar.

The May Fire’s set opened with a blast of noise and a vocal hook that the whole band shouted together. It gave me the feeling they should be playing at the wildest house party ever, or in a stadium full of fans singing along.

The band is fronted by singer Catty Tasso, who sings with a gruff alto and plays rhythm guitar. Nachito, the guitarist, thrills with his tangled blues, punk, and surf guitar riffs, but the real magic of the band is the drummer, El Pipe. His drumming is wild, precise, and so exciting his contribution to the band can’t be overstated.

I wished that the May Fire had slowed it down once or twice to let Tasso show the nuance to her voice more starkly. On the flip side, they could have ratcheted up the intensity by extending some of the noisy moments of rumbling, saturated bass and squalling guitar feedback. Seeing a live band push its sound to the outer limits is always more exciting than watching a tense but flawless performance. It will be fun to watch them continue developing their sound. Definitely check out the May Fire!

This was my first time seeing the Herms even though they’ve been around SF for several years. The lineup featured singer/guitarist Matt Lutz, bassist Alex Tuzin, El Pipe (from the May Fire) on drums, plus a keyboardist and another guitarist.

  The band played loose and easy, laughing and smiling throughout the set. They opened with two jangley tunes that were as smooth and poppy as early Beatles. They followed with a bossa nova track, and, with their electric piano and El Pipe’s Latin feel on the drums, the Herms really did sound like a 1960s bossa nova act. The next song, “Out of Hand,” was my favorite of the evening: a Television-inspired track with extended guitar melody lines over chopped up chords that created a fast and dark groove. Lutz cranked up the lyrical vitriol and pushed his voice to the point of rasping distortion. Later, when Lutz switched to acoustic guitar, the energy sank a bit, but things brightened when the Herms closed with a semi-improvised song about a future world full of music-playing robots.

Watching the Herms is great fun, but unfortunately, Matt Lutz is moving to L.A. and this show was a farewell. The band plans to stick together, so be sure to check out The Herms or Matt Lutz’s solo project whenever they come to town.

[Jeff Bissell]

[STREAM] The Herms: Various Tracks

[STREAM] The May Fire: "Late Song"

[STREAM] The Passionistas: Various Tracks