Minneapolis Band “The Melismatics” played the Turf Club last Friday as part of BNLX Fest. To quote their web site (since they put it much better than anything I cam up with): At the center of The Melismatics sound are the duo lead vocals of husband/wife team of Ryan and Pony Smith. Ryan is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist, and the primary songwriter for The Melismatics. Pony is an intense and flamboyant performer who was raised by deaf parents, which may have led to her extensive use of histrionics onstage. Mark Wade is the backbone of the group with his angular bass lines and rugged good looks, which often get him mistaken for David Duchovny. Ron Caron is quite literally the heartbeat of the group with his creative drumming that make it nearly impossible to not “get up and shake it.”
The chemistry between Pony and Ryan is quite visible on stage. The band’s energy level is high throughout the set. Their songs show influence of old school new wave and are edgy. It took a few songs for the audience to wake up and get closer to the stage, causing Ryan to exclaim:”Now it feels like a rock show!”. The music got rockier towards the end of the set finishing hard with Speaking on Tongues. Veteran performers, the band members stage presence was quite good with fun little twists.
Set List:
Face to Face
Industry of Cool
Soul Sucker
Close 2 the Vest
Habit
Digging Deep
Divided Devotions
Lost the Feeling
Your Love is a Poison
Halo
Delirium
In Droves
It’s a Drag
Speaking in Tongues
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