last week, one of the biggest and most impressive summer tour line-ups hit both dallas and houston. rx bandits were co-headlining a joint with dredg and brought along good old war (dallas) and zechs marquise (houston) for the opening slot.

in any case, wow. rx bandits have not only been one of my favorite bands consistently, but have proven each time they play a show that they are one of the most precise and intricate live bands in the modern music era.

hit the jump for the review, setlists and live videos from rx bandits.

-grizzly y panda

[note: good old war was the dallas opener as told by panda, zechs marquise was the houston opener as told by grizzly]

zechs marquise was first, and i guarantee that they won several fans over. just by paying attention to the responses they got when they finished their first song, which was very indifferent and highly characteristic of opening bands you don’t know; and when they finished their last song, where someone asked for an encore goes to tell you how impressive their set was. it was loud and hit hard. in the interview, the guys said that they hoped to get one fan per show, and i don’t see that NOT being feasible. best of luck to them. [via grizzly]

as an opening act, good old war were definitely a sore thumb, something i think worked to their advantage. during my interview with keith, some dredg fans came up and told keith how he made new fans out of them and they bought the album. it’s amazing what 3 guys with minimal instruments can do. most of it lies in their chemistry as a band. their ability to harmonize with each other was by far one of the best vocal performances i’ve ever seen live. [via panda]

rx bandits played first at both dates, which was definitely a pleasant surprise to both of us. when it comes down to it, i wouldn’t mind seeing dredg, but i most definitely couldn’t imagine sitting through an hour and a half of their music. i caught them a few years back opening for the deftones, and i wasn’t exactly enthused to sit through their set.

anyways, rx bandits started off to a lot of technical difficulties, all of which would continue throughout the set. some of the levels (bass, guitar) were too high and had matt complaining all night. it was weird to see embree get aggravated at some of the sound techs, but you can’t blame him. anyway, the band impressed as always, blazing through old and new shit alike. the setlist was definitely heavy in the latter two albums (and the battle begun, mandala), but the crew graced us with songs like “consequential apathy” and “dinna-dawg.” [via grizzly]

considering i was heavily medicated and was limping on my right side (car accident), i didn’t feel like standing there for an hour and a half listening to the dude from dredg croon. hope the show went well. [via grizzly]

i actually watched most of dredg’s set. they were incredibly tight as musicians, but their vocalist is easily the highlight of their show. his melody’s and vocal skills made me want to listen to them further. that said, i was pretty bored during their set. the live show just wasn’t there for me, not to mention that they were following up rx. their fans were really into their set, which was cool for them, but i wasn’t into it. still a solid band though, who’s new album i’ve been enjoying lately. [via panda]

——————————————————–—————–—————–

[VIDEOS]

rx bandits – mientras la veo sonar

rx bandits – only for the night + drum jam

rx bandits – my lonesome only friend

——————————————————–—————–—————–

[SETLISTS]

good old war (dallas – july 14, 2009)

just another day
i’m not for you
i get no time
instrumental/jam break
weak man
jam session with matt embree
window
looking for shelter

rx bandits (houston – july 17, 2009)

drum jam (intro)
in her drawer
my lonesome only friend
bury it down low
decrescendo
dinna-dawg (and the inevitable onset of lunacy)
it’s only another parsec…
consequential apathy
mientras la veo sonar
to our unborn daughters
1980
a million miles an hour, fast asleep
bring our children home or everything is nothing
only for the night part I
drum jam
only for the night part II

——————————————————–—————–—————–

rx bandits on myspace.
good old war on myspace.
zechs marquise on myspace.
dredg on myspace.

——————————————————–—————–—————–
that’s all. do not miss this tour if it comes to your town. dates here.

-grizzly and panda