If you missed The Bright Light Social Hour when it shredded at last fall’s MidPoint festivities, the acclaimed Austin quartet must have missed you, too, because the band notched a slot on their winter tour for another swing through Cincinnati to level any shaky structures that survived the last visit. This week, the hard-touring Texans return to open the 2012 MidPoint Indie Summer free concert series with two of the Cincinnati area’s finest Rock bands, Buffalo Killers and The Kickaways.
Pinning down the BLSH’s sound is like describing the contents of a blender on puree. On its eponymous 2010 debut album, the group evokes the spirit of the ’70s with shards of Southern Garage Rock, Psychedelic Soul, electric R&B/Funk, Indie Pop and thunderously elemental Hard Rock, represented by acid-washed church and Farfisa organ, searing slide guitar and chunky riffage, Pop melodicism and a funky, slinky rhythm section, all in the service of songs that are compellingly contemporary and utterly appealing.
The BLSH’s efforts have not gone unnoticed — the band’s live shows are achieving the kind of word-of-mouth legend that followed the early Allman Brothers sets, and the group scored big at the Austin Music Awards during last year’s SXSW celebration with an almost inconceivable six wins.
Forget the social network; what you need is an incurable dose of the Bright Light Social Hour’s power.
THE BRIGHT LIGHT SOCIAL HOUR performs Friday, June 1 on downtown on Fountain Square with Buffalo Killers and The Kickaways. Check out performance times and get venue details here.
