Secret Carrboro Ninja Patrol: Show Review: Luego with The Tomahawks

Duke Coffee House April 17, 2009

The Bull City just saw a hot weekend of music, Duo-Fest III, in-store performance by Thao at Chaz's, lo-fi fuzz champs North Elementary at Pinhook, campus concert series with Mecca Normal and The Tender Fruit, and kicking it all into gear was an alt country showcase of Luego and Tomahawk at The Duke Coffeehouse House Friday night. Luego who apparently has performed over two dozen shows since forming had not been on my radar until I saw them on the bill with Tomahawk and gave a listen. After Friday's show I have instant missile lock. Luego embodies everything that is great about the local music culture. We have very talented and hard working bands that place as much importance on fans enjoying the night as they do about their music being perfect. Luego combined crisp, angled melodies with good ol' boy guitar riffs and a wealth of energy to keep the room swirling with electricity.

Remarkably polished and with depthful arrangements, the killer track on Luego's five song EP titled Mean Time handed at shows or streamed from MySpace is the hill billy blue grass single-worthy "Run Away". Light and airy with sprinkles of piano notes and hand claps, this song could be the sound track for the beautiful blue North Carolina Spring we are enjoying.

Newly formed group The Tomahawks shared the stage with Luego on Friday, and did so in more ways than one. Not only did Tomahawk open for Luego, but two of their members play both bands. Singer Songwriter Jeff Crawford shares lead vocals in Tomahawk and plays bass in both groups. Tomahawk fills the air around many of Jeff’s original solo works with drums, bass, and more guitars bringing his music to the next level. Nick Jaeger, rarely seen doing anything but grinding out finger numbing southern guitar licks on stage with MAX Indian not only lays down lead guitar for Luego, but picks up the mic for Tomahawk and displays a surprisingly elevated vocal range. Given the bands obvious Southern rock roots and influences its easy to imagine their thick creamy guitar hooks and even easier to let it pour into your ears.

Duke Coffee House is rapidly becoming one of my favorite spots to see shows first and foremost because it's cheap. Aside from the minimal cover we're normally paying, the venue is byob and in the case of Friday night, Luego front man Patrick Phelan invited everyone into his cooler. Hooray Duke for sponsoring our pursuit of a good time, hooray Luego and The Tomahawks for making it happen.

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Luego