Brian Fox Marks His Territory
Tantric/ Brian Fox/ Howling Diablos at Headliner's Music Hall - 4/8/01
Tantric was headlining the show, but Brian Fox made it impossible to tell that he was "only" an opening act. The only thing that was "opening-act-worthy" was the fact that he played first. It will be no surprise to me when he makes it big in this industry, following in the footsteps of local boys Tantric. There are close ties between the two bands, and both are headed for great things.
Brian Fox is the first band that is in full rotation at WLRS without being signed since Edenstreet, Brian said. However, I wouldn't expect that honor to last very long, as labels are already calling as I write. The group has done all this in their four months together. For bassist Ruth Bean, the gig with Tantric was the first time playing out with Brian and the band. Not a bad initiation, eh?
You can find Brian on the 1998 WQMF Homegrown CD, as you may remember him from the cover band Orion (a tune called "Regret" is featured) and more recently on Live at Mom's. Brian can also be seen periodically at Headliners, the BRYCC House and head on WLRS. Call WLRS at 571-1051 and request the single "Yes" to get a sample of his music. You can order his CD on the Internet at
bryfoxrox@hotmail.com. Check him out at www.mp3.com/bryanfox if you feel the need to window-shop first.On the opposite end of the food chain are The Howling Diablos, a band from Detroit whose lead singer, unfortunately, reminded me of Kid Rock. In fact, I think someone replaced Kid Rock with "Folgers Crystals" to see if anyone would notice, and it was indeed Kid onstage. I was just waiting for him to scream something about "Going Platinum" or being a "Devil Without a Cause" so I would have a good excuse to leave.
Aside from the image, there were too many sax solos and repetition. The music was cool for a song or two, but that was all. They played way too long and took time away from a band with talent, Tantric. I remember a portion of a song that went something like, "Boom-Da-Boom, Boom-Boom-Ba-Da, Boom-Goo-Goo-Ga-Ga, Ba-Wit-Da-Ba Danga Dang Diggy Diggy..." Whatever. I hear they are on Kid Rock's label. Surprise, surprise.
And of course, he also tried the "play all the instruments onstage" trick. Its high point was the drum break. It was exactly like "Stomp" only without the cool drumbeats, garbage cans or talent.
OK, here is my segue to the Tantric portion of this concert review:
"I saw you on Leno!" a fan said to Hugo after the show.
Interested yet? Good. Now go read Tim Roberts' cover story on Tantric to learn about these guys and their recent success, demonstrating that it was Travis Meeks who was holding them back.