dredg
May 19th at Great American Music Hall, San Francisco

As someone who grew up in the Bay Area and began listening to dredg in 2002, there is really no excuse for me not seeing one of the roughly 2,463 shows they’ve played in San Francisco over the last seven years. Though I only lived in the area for about three of those years, with their incessant national touring and my continual fandom (and summers spent in SF), you would’ve thought that I’d caught them at least once. Alas, every time I would be set to see the quartet, some dastardly, unforeseen circumstances intervened and my hopes would be dashed, leaving me in a seemingly perpetual state of dredg concert virginity.

However, that all changed on Tuesday night, when I finally got to pop my cherry. The quartet took the stage following a typically pummeling set from the Miami-based trio Torche, who got the crowd of mostly twenty-somethings fired up to see the band most of them were there to see (or it could have been the six-dollar Bud Lights).

The group opened with the crowd-pleasing “Same Ol’ Road”, the track that really introduced me to the art-rockers. Vocalist Gavin Hayes’ swirling vocals danced over the top of a deep, pulsating groove, laid down by bassist Drew Roulette and drummer Dino Campanella. The number built to a beautiful resolution after the bass-heavy first few minutes, when guitarist Mark Engles intervened with an ethereal, arpeggiated melody. Hayes showed off his powerful, passionate vocals, as he led the nearly sold-out crowd in a boisterous sing-along of the refrain, “Recent it seems / We must push on, we must push on / Though we bleed / We must push on, we must push on.” The guys then plowed through classics like “Ode to the Sun”, “Catch Without Arms”, and “Of the Room” expertly interspersed with new cuts from their forthcoming, fourth LP The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion which is out June 9th. It appears that dredg fans can look forward to more of the group’s signature brand of highly lyrical, versatile, melodic, thinking person’s hard rock.

As musicians, dredg handled the complex arrangements with the ease of a group who has been together for over 15 years and the exuberance of a group that just started playing together. Along with Hayes’ impressive range and warm vocals, the group is led from the back, as Campanella is an absolute beast behind the drums. On upbeat numbers like “Bug Eyes” and “Penguins in the Desert”, his playing brings the songs to life without overstepping the tracks’ melodic boundaries. He resists the urge to overplay and opts to use his technical proficiency to complement the songs. As the band closed with the pensive “Stamp of Origin: Horizon”, I was left with the feeling of satisfaction that comes from seeing a highly anticipated show totally live up to your expectations.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

Read past installments of It Shows:

Avett Brothers: May 16th at the Fillmore, SF and Little Boots: May 18th at Le Poisson Rouge, NY

The Dead: May 14th at Shoreline Amphitheatre: SF

The Vaselines: May 11th at Bimbo’s and Destroyer: May 9th at Swedish American Hall, SF