Saturday, April 25, 2009

Tenant - Beieve the hype!


If I had to describe Tenant with a sentence it would be this, their music is sadly forgettable but their performance is forever memorable.
Now, this is not to say that the music was bad, because it wasn't. It simply lacked originality and creativity. There were sweetly sensitive melodic guitar harmonies, great vocal transitions with perfectly pitched harmonies, and tempo changes that created a feeling of suspense and built up a real intensity. The music was simple yet powerful, sweet yet aggressive, and yet still nothing I haven't heard a thousand times from a thousand other progressive rock bands. What these guys do have that many others don't, and the reason that I would go out to another show, is the stage presence and performance quality of a stadium ready band.
With a frontman that truly knows what it means to "rock out" and an amazing energy coming from every end of the stage, these guys gave it their all and were gratefully rewarded by an enthusiastic reception of loyal fans. If you look up entertaining and eccentric in the dictionary, the only description would be "Tenant". This is a band that appears to write songs from a love of music, not just an empty desire to be in a rock band and please the pre-teen masses. When they're on stage you believe every chord that is struck and every word that is sung, you can feel the melodies streaming from the guitar. Having a connection to the crowd is so important because if they don't relate to you, you may as well give up and move on, and as I watched their adoring fans move in perfect unison I knew that this band had it and could hold onto it for as long as they choose to create music. I will admit that their were times when I found myself taken aback by their nerdy charm and endless energy, where I had to rise to my feet put down my notes and rock out. You can't help but get swept up in the party nature of their show, and even though Tenants frontman may not be the most attractive guy in the world, he draws you in and holds you there with his powerful voice and emotional performance. Their style of show is definitely an experience, they have fun on stage, put it all out there and even keep the party going between songs with comedic banter. I really enjoy a heavy band that doesn't try to be somethings it's not, that doesn't pretend to be "hardcore", it's very refreshing. I don't know if I'd call it a spectacle of musical greatness, but it was definitely an amazing spectacle of something fantastically entertaining.
Now, musically, if you piece apart the band the individuals are really nothing special, and there were a few moments of lost clarity and sloppiness, but in there defence they did quickly recover and I don't think anyone other than myself really noticed. I really enjoyed watching these guys and I can definitely see their music being played at raging parties everywhere. Personally, I would like to see a little more growth in the musical creativity department.
Overall, I would say that these guys perform a must see show, and although simple, their music is well played and well written to be able to relate to the legions of progressive hard rock fans out there.
Check out tenant at http://www.myspace.com/tenantband

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