Gene Pool Style

Tuesday night, Grand Rapids' (MI) very own Whirlwind Heat took the stage at the Magic Stick in Detroit. In the midst of a nationwide tour, mostly with Be Your Own Pet, the band made a stop in the town that helped propel them to where they are now.

It was only a few years ago that Jack White signed them as the first band on his Third Man Records. Considering their neo-new-wave-whatever sound, it seemed an odd choice. Back then, WH would say that they started out trying to sound like Devo. Now they claim no bands as influences. I'm not trying to call them out, I'm just stating the facts. Considering where their sound has gone, I get it. Now they say that feelings are their biggest influences.

For this show, they didn't play anything from the first album or from the Flamingo Honey EP, it was entirely from "Types of Wood." I think they played the whole album in it's entirety, but they didn't play it in order. There were about thirty kids up in front of the stage, and maybe just as many further out sitting at tables watching. A few of those kids up front knew all the words and were singing along. Some were even dancing! For some reason, Detroiters usually find it difficult to dance at a rock show. I'll never understand.

Early on in the set, David Swanson's Moog cut out. I don't know if it was the keyboard or the connection or what, but it was out for the night. A couple times he tried to figure it out while the drums and bass went on, but it didn't work out. So he sang the Moog parts! And he did it well, sounded just like a synth. But he couldn't sing all of it, so the parts where he would normally be singing and playing, he just sang. The band worked suprisingly well with just drums and bass. Much like Death From Above 1979 or Japanther or Tentacle Lizardo, Steve Damstra II plays the bass like he's playing the lead guitar. Okay, better example, it's like in Joy Division, where the bass was always up front. Sometimes in Joy Division's songs, Peter Hook's parts were taking the place of the lead guitar, and other times he was providing rhythm along with the drums. So in Whirlwind Heat, Steve plays the bass and alternates between lead parts and rhythm parts.

It seems like a newer trend lately. All of these bands who do it have a slight new wave bent, but are also quite rockin'. Whirlwind Heat, Death From Above 1979, Japanther, and Tentacle Lizardo are all bands that feature at the very least bass guitar and drums. And on some, or in some cases, many songs, they use keyboards and samples and drum machines. I know there are more examples, but I can't think right now. I could say Morphine or the Inbreds, but those had a sound more rooted in jazz.

The point is, watch out. The drums/bass/synth people are coming to take you away. Whirlwind Heat may not be at the head of the pack, but they're creepin' up fast.