Rolled in rather late to a night of relatively unfamiliar bands at the Middle East Club.  I did get to catch a few songs from the New York-based Shorebirds, who pulled off some fantastic 70s rock numbers amidst a few hohum ramble tamble tunes.  I swear I heard part of a "Freebird" solo from the scraggly-haired guitarist during one of their songs, but I'm telling you, next time these guys are in town you have to catch their live show.  There was some real impressive energy and sound blaring off the stage from the Shorebirds.

After a short interlude the three members of Static of the Gods climbed quietly onto the stage and quickly delved into their set list.  The first thing I noticed was the striking difference of elevation between vocalist Jen and bassist Ben, for he's got to be 8 feet tall to her 5 feet.  I wonder if Static of the Gods scope out clubs to see if they can fit that guy before playing... either that or he can play bass on his knees and still rock out.  A test to be tried!

Heights aside, the music of Static of the Gods can be described as amped-up pop rock with a few twists here and there.  Most tunes had a common element of bass and drum rhythm, but it'd be the guitar that sometimes set off on an interesting note that made the song more interesting than the typical stuff people usually hear.  That's not to say that the songs were terribly daring, for you knew the tunes were gonna be 2-3 minutes with verse and chorus, but the musical compositions were varied enough to make Static of the Gods a little more than a standard rock band. 

Their set mostly consisted of tracks from their new album, "Cycles Follow Signs" as well as a tune or two from their first EP.  The band didn't spend a lot of time chatting between songs to the comfortably filled MidEast Upstairs room, but the impression given was that although these guys are a polished unit with polished presentation, they're still having a good time up there.  With the music reflecting a similar spirit of buoyancy, Static of the Gods are a solid choice to go check out sometime if you haven't already.