School Band

Class of 2015 is a bands mini-showcase spanning 3 week-ends at The Silver Dollar. This venerable venue, though a bit of a dump, was recently designated a heritage building. Saturday's weather was mild enough to convince me to drag my old bones out of hibernation. But I wasn't up to these late night revels anymore, so I ended up only seeing 2 bands on the bill.

Nikki Fierce is a female trio doing pop-punk. They looked barely old enough to get pass security, and their roadies were older family members. Their music could be punky, but similar to The Lonely Parade, their penchant for changing tempo and melodies gave them more of a (proggy) rock feel. Each player took turns on the vocals with different feel from throaty cynicism to more twee lightness.

The BB Guns are veterans compared to the opener, more confident and assured on stage. Despite the disparate looks, Charlotte Marie's 60s Motown vibe, Laura Hermiston's Fleetwood Mac look, and Alana Marta Dee's rock chick get-up, they were usually loud and fast. The first two numbers (She Thinks She's So (Soho), Bang) were just barely 4 minutes long. But it was obvious they had multiple influences as all 3 women also sang lead, with each song invoking a different mood. The rich harmony of new number She's So Fine could easily be a radio-friendly pop ballad. The only negative was the mix, too loud and muddy to make out the lyrics.