Unmoored

Friday night at the Rivoli, Anchor Shop presented a mix of local bands. First up was Ivory Hours. They were notable for doing a male-female harmony for almost all their vocals. This worked best on straight pop songs like I'll Stay Away and Two Keys. Their other numbers had more unusual arrangements that weren't as catchy.

Solo singer/pianist Stacey was unsuccessful in reducing the noise of the barflies with her low-key music. Slender in a lace black dress, she played plaintive love-sick songs that often consisted of two chords. It was a hard sell to the raucous crowd.

Air Marshall Landing brought back some high energy with their pop-rock tunes, with hints of funk and reggae. They also did dual singing, but usually alternating between guitarist and bassist. The drummer had trouble controlling the bass drum, as his furious playing kept pushing it away. At one point, he was simply trying to rein its escape with his toes.

It was the CD release show for newly formed band For Esme, a new endeavour by Martha Meredith. Their first song was played in darkness. It was an appropriate introduction to their meandering, experimental pop. Meredith sometimes added an electronic, distancing aesthetic by singing through a megaphone.