12 Rods – 10 year comeback
If you ask friends if they’ve heard of 12 Rods, the usual answer is no. A good reason is their next gig, Friday at First Avenue, has taken 10 years to arrive.
It’s fitting as their farewell show was also at First Ave, in 2004. What prompted the show is the re-release of their last record, “Lost Time” recently. Unconventionally, the bands 10 different members will take stage at different points during the night, to indicate the different eras when they joined.
Being compared to Modest Mouse and TV on the radio, band members look back and think the group’s music was ahead of the time. It’s a mix of prog-rock, high intensity vocal, with roaring fuzz tossed in, covering a lot of twenty-something angst.
What would have happened if producers, managers and big labels did not derail their music? No one knows, but they deserved a better chance. Pitchfork Music gave their album, gay?, an extremely rare 10.0 perfect rating.
Get to know them at 9 PM Friday at First Ave. 12 Rods with Rupert Angeleyes. Tickets $20: eTix.com