Ting Pavilion, July 19
On its face, it seems awfully early in the evening to lose it for the kind of rock ’n’ roll you’ll get out of Shagwüf. Then again, with that Fridays after Five offer (um, free), you can’t exactly complain about it either. A mainstay of local music stages, the self-proclaimed “sweet freaks” are actually more sweet than freaky on stage. Still, keep an eye out or you might get your drink kicked out of your hand. Bassist Sally Rose (also of the much better-behaved Sally Rose Band) and guitarist Sweet Pete make it easy to get lost: Their pop hooks keep coming at you, harkening back to musical archetypes from across the decades while keeping the energy frenzied and the crowd cavorting. The results of Shagwüf’s sound tend to come up as fuzzy, unflinching head-boppers that can easily dance sideways into snaking rhythms suggestive of world music, thanks to the flailing intensity of drummer Pablo Olivieri. Ultimately it’s slightly psychedelic, kinda indie, a touch of sludge, with the faintest whiff of stoner rock. Not that you should ever ever quote Billy Joel, but I guess it is still rock ’n’ roll to me.
—CM Gorey