 Cursive |
 The Blood Brothers |
Story by Karen Bondowski
On tour to support their latest CD, The Ugly Organ, Omaha, Nebraska natives Cursive are just stepping into a groove. The sold out Metro's heat rose quickly as the band opened with "Sierra," guitarist Ted Steven's mid tempo anchor and lead singer's Tim Kasher's shaking and sweat-drenched body made the rest of the band follow their guides willingly.
Photos by Terry MayerThe quirky and inventive bands' delivery was rich in it's intensity, yet still personal and raw. Kasher's veins nearly popped out of his neck and forehead as the lyrics freed themselves from their birthplace. As "Art is Hard" started to emerge on stage, the lights darkened and drummer Clint Schnase was left to keep a steady beat that rose one step ahead of the audiences' anticipation. All at once the band slowly rejoined Schnase's hard lightning strikes with a thunderous bang of their own. Cursive marries many types of music. Theirs is unpredictable and slightly dangerous.
When you think their music is safely taking you forward - they abruptly take you into a completely different direction. On "Bloody Murder," "Driftwood a Fairy Tale" and "The Recluse" the band put it's sticky stamp on their fresh and uniquely layered music. Cursive closed with "A Gentleman Caller" kicking off the song with enough energy to light up the darkened building. The song's momentum was closely tied to it's impending, climactic ending. Raw, yet refined. Passionate, yet somehow distant.
Openers the Blood Brothers somehow got stuck in a time warp to the 1970s. Clad in vintage punk - the bands' energy was rooted less in the moment and more in the movement. Reckless and scratchy - the bands catalog started to flow into one long and fast punk epic. Punkus Opus for the illiterate.
The Blood Brothers might be sincere, but that's no excuse for a complete lack of originality.
Cursive
The Blood Brothers
Cursive
