The Holy Slow Train

Even if Will Quinlan wasn’t a fan of the humidity last night, his band showed promise at New World Brewery. “But wait,” you say, “I didn’t hear about a Will Quinlan and the Diviners show.” That’s because Quinlan was playing with a new side project to the Diviners, a group called The Holy Slow Train.

Among the palm trees and Pilsners, The Holy Slow Train played a series of songs audience members seemed to enjoy. Although indie-rock crowds are usually full of people that could pass for statues, fans in the pit of New World were freely swaying and moving to the group’s music.

And for those of you who care exactly why Quinlan didn’t like the climate last night, here’s recreated dialogue between Quinlan, his band, and the crowd.

“It’s so bloody hot. I hate Florida.”

“Aw, come on, Will. No, you don’t,” says bandmate Soraya Zaumeyer.

“Let me be more specific: it’s the climate.”

“Go back to Ireland then!” yells someone from the crowd.

“I will go back to Ireland; I like it there. And the next time I go, I’ll take all of you with me.”

“AwwwwWWwWWW,” the crowd coos.

Zillionaire.

I sometimes judge good music by its ability to rouse me from my perpetual state of self-consciousness. So, if I find myself absentmindedly tapping my foot, or bobbing my head with music, I feel the band must be doing something right.

Zillionaire must be doing something right.

Zillionaire, a band on the Tampa label New Granada Records, played music that reminded me of groups like the Pixies and Nirvana. Specifically, the opener since the band played a song that started very quiet, then got very loud, then went back to being quiet again.

As well as back catalog Zillionaire tunes, the band played songs from their new 7” split with the German band Enrico.

Although I probably won’t be winning any dance-offs anytime soon, if Zillionaire plays Tampa again, I’d be more than happy to once again tap my feet and slightly nod my head to their music.

Wye Oak

Even though Wye Oak lead singer Jenn Wasner said she was sick and “hopped up on Dayquil,” she and drummer/multi-instrumentalist Andy Stack played through enough songs to make for a pleasant experience.

The first five songs the group played were from their newest album, The Knot. After these tracks, the group played a new song and then songs from If Children.

Although they’re on tour with Blitzen Trapper, the Baltimore two-piece stopped by Tampa to headline the New World show and play an in-store show at Vinyl Fever.

During the show, Wasner joked about how when she was at Vinyl Fever she saw a cardboard cutout of a mainstream rapper, The Dream. After she commented on it, she said a Vinyl Fever worker let her have the cutout. She said she now wants to bring it home to Baltimore. Later in the show, she joked that she felt like Neil Young when the wind from a fan started blowing through her hair.

Throughout the night, even though she was sick, Wasner sang with a husky powerful howl, much like Erika Wennerstrom who sings for the band Heartless Bastards.

The group closed the show with a song “that we don’t play that often,” “If Children.” However, she said she wanted to play a slow song since she didn’t have enough energy and stamina to play a song that required a lot of energy.

She closed the show by saying “That was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a sick show. Thank you for making me forget about my cold.”

And I forgot that I was tired. Thanks to you too, Wye Oak.

Bonus food review:

New World’s bar has Doritos. They taste like Doritos.

This article appears in Oct 8-14, 2009.