rademacher + earlimart at the partisan

so, i ventured up to merced, california to see rademacher and earlimart on a tuesday night. i hadn't checked my myspace lately so i didn't even realize they were playing until a friend texted me on monday about it. when i heard rademacher, earlimart and $5 i knew i had to go.

first things first, the partisan, where the show was, is a hella cool spot. r.c. from el olio wolof fame runs the joint and it's a great little spot. nice bartenders, great visibility for the stage, nice sound system, plenty of seats.

rademacher came on and i was very excited to see them in their latest incarnation, now as a three piece. they jumped down our collective throats, in a good way. gone is the disco bounce from most songs. it's been replaced with some serious low end fuzz from gree. mad straight rock. i'm loving it. it is definitely a re-imagining of what they've been in the past, but i love it. there are enough similar licks and grooves that it's still your rademacher, but it's also different and great.

one thing i was missing was the tiny tots piano. i'm hoping it's not gone for good.

if you've never seen rademacher, you've got a lot of upcoming opportunities. today (wednesday) they're playing a noon show @ the pit @ fresno state. free, i think. and, they're playing @ howie's pizza in visalia tonight. tomorrow night (thursday) they'll be playing the post art hop show @ tokyo garden. hit up any of these shows and rademacher will make you a believer.

btw, eli, the drummer, also plays in the fay wrays. they were just signed to the same label as rademacher so expect an upcoming record release from them.

earlimart came on and their first three songs were like a dream mix. soft, hard, soft. thre third song was a great number off the new album, hymn and her. you should pick up that album if you haven't already. they've come a long way as a band and their sound is very mature, deep, trustworthy and supremely crafted. (no, i didn't just get a thesaurus.) i really have trouble believing that i saw this show in a tiny bar in merced. they should be destroying the airwaves and playing sold out concerts. if you can catch them at this point it will be your privilege. overall, earlimart has great lyrics, throbbing guitar and bass with vocals flying above. so nice. honestly, they will throw songs at you that the sound goes from melodic to crap your pants heavy. it's amazing that it is so seamlessly joined.

great night. so glad i went. can't wait to see rademacher play again thursday.