Show Review – 04.19.10 – Trans AM (w/Jonas Reinhardt & Nice Nice) at Middle East

To be honest, I had very low expectations for this show, given that few people were there in the very beginning. However, by the end of the night, it all changed and huge credit should go to Trans AM who did an amazing set. The supporting bands were also good and they are:
Jonas Reinhardt – From San Francisco.
While a name like that conjures either images of weepy folk-singer/songwriter type or, god forbid, leads to an association with Jonas Brothers, JR have nothing to do with any those (“Which one of you is Jonas?” was one of the questions from the audience). Its a foursome that plays music that sounds like it could’ve been written in the 70s – with pointers to German school (Neu!, early Kraftwerk etc) and early Floyd.
Their music is full of glorious synth sounds, spacey FX and all sorts of ethereal sounds.  Not terribly original, but really well done anyway.
Nice Nice – From Portland, OR.
NN also played a certain take on krautrock, but it was far more noisy and weird than in case with JR. NN’s music is an endless maze of sound effects, undecipherable vocals, pounding drums and God knows what else. It was also nice (no pun intended) of them to bring their parents along.
Trans AM – The main event of the night
As stated above, their set was beyond great. The band played plenty of material from an upcoming album “The Thing”, as well as many old songs (including “Firepoker” – a personal favorite). And they did it with such passion and power that it defies any explanation.
Clearly, by all accounts, TA were the best band of that evening and their set alone was well worth a price of admission.