The Nots, No Tides, Headwinds - Beauty Bar, Sunday Jan 19, 2017

I was lucky enough to play with the Nots at Gonerfest with the Gizmos back in Oct of 2014 and was pretty damn knocked out by their set of energetic post punk/no wave/punk rock sound, so when I heard that they were coming to Vegas, I had to come out for them. Luckily, although it was a Sunday night, Monday's a holiday, so a fairly good crowd also ventured into the night!

Opening the eve was Headwinds, a group that I was unfamiliar with that I assume was a new-ish combo, due to their lack of stage presence and seeming insecurity. They had a minimalist sound - maybe similar to LA's 100 Flowers, and would occasionally sing in Spanish and the guitarist would use some interesting chord phrasing.

Next up was No Tides, a more appealing (to me) combo, using reverbed guitars in a spaghetti western kinda way, with a little Ska here, a little Cure there, a bit a doo-wop (at least to my ears), and a hint of the Dead Kennedys. Cool guitar licks, fast riffing numbers, and a good variety to their tunes. Certainly a band to watch.

Memphis' Nots are a groovy bunch of gals, "led" by Natalie on guitar and lead vocals, aided and abetted by Charlotte, Alexandra and Meredith on synth, bass and drums (sorry - not sure who was who - the FB page and the CD's don't tell me). As I said, it's an energetic no-wave-y kinda sound, with reverbed/echo-y guitar, cool synth/keyboard licks (really loved this addition to the group) and strong bass and drums. I heard a bit of Siouxie, a bit of L7, a cover of the Normal's "TV OD", and a lot of their own uniqueness. Lots of power'n'potency, catchy noise, and rockin' presence.

Thanks to the Beauty Bar for bringing these swingin' chicks to town and thanks to the Nots for making Vegas a stop of their tour! Nice to see something cool'n'different'n'fun!