Mezzanine
San Francisco, CA
10 December 2008

It’s become fairly clear to me that I write exactly two types of show reviews: over-the-top-superlative-filled-fanboy-drivel or snarky, obnoxious judgmental hate speech.

Guess which one this is?

Actually, maybe I’m turning over a new leaf. Audrye Sessions was certainly not bad. Likewise, they weren’t exactly amazing. They were kind of…innocuous.

Usual instrumentation plus violin, cello, occasional trumpet and trombone? Very promising. It’d would’ve been even better if any of them could be heard. Perhaps it was the mixer’s fault, but it seemed a rare occasion that anything other than guitar, drums or vocals came out into the crowd.

It felt like they were a guitar-driven band who’d been convinced to throw in some “crazy” instruments to make them stand out. It didn’t sound bad at all, but the strings and horns just felt like afterthoughts. Maybe it was just a volume issue, or maybe they just weren’t given enough of the melody.

There were certainly some solid moments throughout their set. They ended especially strong, with a rousing crescendo of a song that left us wondering what could have been. At their worst, they were safe alternative fare, but at their best, they proved that they’re capable of much more.

On a night when energy positively exploded from the stage (thank you Vampire Weekend and Cold War Kids), Audrye Sessions simply played a decent set.

Bring the horns. Bring the strings. Bring it.