Three Sheet - Show Review

Posted by TNaugler September 29, 2010

Three Sheet - Show Review

THREE SHEET
LIVE
@ The Elephant & Castle
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Review by Isaac Thompson

Disclaimer:

Since Tiffany was letting her inner metal-head out to play at Thrashfest, I attended this event solo and snapped all the pictures myself. Neither my camera nor my photography skills are as advanced as Tiff’s, so you’ll have to bear with me.

**note from Tiff: The photos really aren't that bad...

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I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to say about Three Sheet. As my friend and Noisography co-conspirator Dan Nightingale pointed out in his review of The City Streets: “sometimes it's easier to write about shitty bands than enjoyable ones”. I might add to that its damn near impossible to write about a band you think is excellent. And I think ‘excellent’ is too feeble a word to describe what I witnessed when I went to check the band out on Friday Night at the Elephant & Castle.

The opening band, the Lucy Grays, did a fine job setting the tone for the evening. They played a set of chilled pop music that was both jazzy and funky. The songs feature boppy bass runs, reggae style guitar riffs and hip-hop inspired keyboard runs set to danceable ‘boots & cats’ beats. The band’s drummer is also their lead singer and he does a terrific job. he had great pitch and sang with a lot of power and emotion while managing to keep the beats solid. The Lucy Grays are well worth catching if you like rock that emphasizes melody and dance-beats over heaviness.

Then Three Sheet took the stage and absolutely blew the roof of the place (and come to think of it, Elephant & Castle is a basement tavern, which means at least two roofs were blown off the place).

Three Sheet’s live show is phenomenal. The E&C has no stage; just a corner where the bands can set up and play. For a lot of bands this might be a handicap, but Three Sheet took full advantage of the space, using it to destroy the separation between the audience and the performers. It felt more like attending a house party than a gig at a bar. The group played one awesome party jam after another, never letting up on the momentum of their set.

Three Sheet are a great band and every member is fully equipped with mind boggling skill and an affable charisma, but the one ingredient that stands out the most is beatboxer EMC. Instead of a drum kit or bongos or pots & pans, all of the beats were performed by the throat of EMC. He was absolutely amazing. I have never seen anything like it. EMC was able to make his voice sound like a complete drum kit and he never seemed to miss a beat or need to catch his breath. It was literally astounding. Along with keeping the beats, EMC would make perfect sounding record scratches and sometimes he would rap while still beatboxing! I have no idea how he does it. I was totally floored. Seriously, I can’t remember when I was this impressed by a musician’s ability.

The rest of the band played off of EMC’s beats with ease.

Expedyte (the group’s male MC) is a versatile rapper and great hype man. His voice is as smooth as Tone Loc, his lyrics are as thoughtful as Q-Tip’s and his flow is as tight as Lupe Fiasco’s. Expedyte owned the mic on Friday night. He had the crowd either swaying in unison like a pendulum to the laid back grooves or jumping around to the party-anthem rave-ups. His stage presence was refreshingly void of any of the boisterous macho posturing that most rappers seem to hide behind. He performs like an artist who is true to himself and his craft.

The groups female MC Vanessa Furlong is a magnetic front-woman. She moves around the stage with a casual cool. Although she rapped a bit, she mostly sang the hooks of the songs. Furlong’s voice is just the right amount of soul and edge.

Guitarist Ryan O’quinn seems to be the kind of player who can pull off any style. His playing ranged from heavy riffs to spacey echoes to distorted grunge to jazzy noodling. Although O’quin incorporates countless genres of music in his playing, he doesn’t sound all over the place. His style manages to stay cohesive and unique.

Kevin Tilley is the perfect bass player for the band. He can play all over the fret-board when he needs to but he can also lock into a simple groove and take it where it needs to go. The way his bass riffs lock on with EMCs beats is fantastic and makes it impossible not to move.

I can’t recommend this band enough. They play music that is original yet accessible, laid back yet energetic and sexy yet intelligent. " If you see them and you aren’t impressed I will eat your hat. (warning: Noisography is not responsible for any damaged or lost hats).

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