Grooms at Ronny’s Bar – Chicago, IL – November 25, 2009
By nlagger • Dec 1st, 2009 • Category: Features, OKR Articles
Grooms at Ronny’s Bar – Chicago, IL
November 25, 2009
by Nick Lagger
This was my first time at Ronny’s, and when I walked into the dimly lit bar, all I could think was, “Man, this place literally smells like piss.” I was there to see Grooms, and luckily for me, the area where the bands play did not share that oh-so-sweet smell. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, this was the Grooms’ first show in Chicago, and I wish that they could have played a better place than the VFW-esque Ronny’s with its drop-ceiling tiles and paired-up toilets with no stalls in between. The crowd turnout could have been a little better, but it was the night before Thanksgiving. However, Grooms didn’t seem to care and proceeded to “raise the roof.” The energy of their show was definitely on par with Rejoicer, their debut album. Bassist Emily Amburso’s distorted bass blends nicely with Travis Johnson’s guitar. Even in Ronny’s drab atmosphere, Grooms created beautiful waves of noise and blended it with melodic jabs and razor sharp drums (you can tell Jim Sykes put in his time on his drum pad). The tune “CJ” found Amburso singing through what I believe was a delay pedal, which created some beautiful rising tension and culminated with Johnson’s guitar set to the backdrop of a little free-time jazz drumming—a perfect way to end the show.
For more information on Grooms, check out their myspace page
http://www.myspace.com/groomsmusic
Here is their video for the song “Dreamsucker” which is on their latest album ‘Rejoicer’
