Fever Sleeves is self described as "a hardcore version of an indie rock band, or math rock with melody".  The trio started sound checking with lead singer, Tony Gidlund, playing some Metallica which received a "woo!" from someone in the audience.  He called back, "Yeah, someone who gets it!"  He started playing the forbidden "Stairway" right after, but only for a few seconds.  The band began playing suddenly without warning.  The first song showed that while there was for a third time of the night an occurrence of not great singing, it actually worked with the music and was more or less intentional.  Sometimes the vocals were more talk-singing and sometimes there was yelling which sounded best out of all the singing styles covered.  The guitarists back up vocals could not be heard sometimes, but no one else seemed to notice.  

The second song had some chords that sounded bad, but on purpose and the music changed soon to a more aggressive style. The lyrics seemed to be about digital rights.  The following song was the most interesting and dynamic piece of music of the night.  Gidlund said after the song that he was so glad to be playing a show with By Sunlight and Empty Rooms.  I was wondering why, but then I thought maybe it could be that they think the other bands make them look better, though hopefully that is only my cynical insight.  The fifth song was melancholic and during playing Gidlund said, "Ominous." The song went pleasantly weird from there.  An audience member came up to assist Gidlund with a strap problem, which should have been expected from the warning sign of duct tape.  A By Sunlight band member seemed to offer a bass replacement, but it was politely turned down.  Gidlund still told the crowd, "How cool is By Sunlight?" He then said in Joe Esposito's song style, "They're the best around!"  The crowd called back, "Nothing's ever gonna keep you down!"  They repeated it once more.  Good times.

The next song was a cover of Built to Spill's "Carry the Zero" and was, of course, the most accessible song of the set.  The last song may or may not have been a cover as well.  In any case, it did not sound like the rest of their music.  The whole set overall was different and interesting, with music not too predictable, but not so challenging as to only be enjoyed by those who thrive on difficult tunes.  They have been around for about five years, not always active, but hopefully this San Diego band will stay around to keep giving us some good stuff for a while before taking another break.

Photo Credit: Michael Klayman / www.seemichaelsphotos.com