Derailed: The Derailers at Plaza Park, San Marcos
Sometimes writing reviews is hard. Sometimes it's hard just because it takes energy. Sometimes it's hard b/c you have to leave a negative review about a band you liked (or once liked). This is one of those times.
The Derailers were playing for free last saturday night in san marcos. i'd seem them 2 or 3 times before, and always had a blast at their shows. i was looking forward to it, but i had just a little bit of apprehension. tony villanueva, the main singer and songwriter from the group, had left the band over a year ago. the band decided to continue without him, w/ brian, who wrote some songs, and sang lead on some songs, taking full duties. i had heard a pretty good concert review on the new lineup, so i thought it'd be ok.
we were running a little late getting to the park. as we walked, you could hear the music in the darkness. as we got closer we could hear the music. i didn't like it. i said "mercy, i hope this is the opening band". unfortunately it was not. the first 2 or 3 songs we heard sounded nothing like the derailers i knew. it sounded like a bar band trying at times to sound like they had the california sound. the REAL derailers HAD the california. it sounded natural. everything about saturday nights performance seemed forced to me---almost like a schtick. the band played a couple songs off of "Here come the Derailers"--my fav. cd--- and 1 of them sounded really good. the other only sounded ok.
they announced before one song, that the next one would be a song off their new album.
the song was called "get er done!".
and it was then that i knew that i could no longer cheer for the derailers. "get er done"? that's pandering to the lowest common denominator. apologies if you're a fan of the redneck comedy scene. all things have their place i guess, but i don't need my music being inspired by that, or sinking to that level. that's not clever. that's just awful. ( i hated the song by the way).
things didn't ever really pick up after that. another song or 2 i didn't really like. and we left early.
i feel bad for the band that was there. i really do. i saw the Derailers on my first real trip to Austin 4 or so years ago at the historic Gruene Hall. it blew my mind. the band came out in shiny suits and their rickenbacker guitars sounded incredible. it was an insanely fun night, and helped get me hooked on TX right away. from there, I purchased 4 of their cds. i saw them again the next time i came to austin. same stellar show. high energy, very professional. very good.
and then tony left the band.
it's always tough when a lead singer leaves a band and the rest of the guys want to continue. bands w/ new lead singers usually suck. styx, foreigner, journey---they're all out there playing the oldies circuit, but none have their original singer. i'll never go see them. that's one of my pet peeves, when a band does that. it's like you're going to see professional karoake. no thank you. some bands have had success w/ multiple singers (survivor, van halen--w/ the exception of when they tried out gary cherone), but most it's just not worth it. the derailers case is slightly different. i can't blame them for wanting to keep the name, and keep playing. it wasn't their choice to have tony leave. and brian was great on the songs he wrote and the songs he sang. it seemed logical to have him give it a try as the front man. so they persevered. and from their standpoint--why not? they still wanted to play, and the Derailers had really made a name for themselves. as one of my favs off "here comes the derailers" says, they were all the rage in Texas.
and they'd gained a decent following outside of TX too. their sound was pure california country and it was good. it certainly was good.
but now, they're just kinda hanging on to the name. the band i saw on saturday was nothing like the derailers i knew. while brian was excellent in the supporting role, i can't say that translated to being the leader of the band. it all just seemed forced--like he was trying to hard. it's too bad. i can't recommend them anymore. they seemed like just another bar band. it hurts me to say so, but it's the truth.
i wish them luck in their new adventures, and i wish tony villanueva luck in whatever he's doing these days. they were potent when they together. if you never saw them, i'm sorry you missed on it. it really was something.
|
