colour with an r...

so i've literally been watching the office with the guys from colour revolt for 12 straight episodes. seems like a good time to write a blog about them since they played kilby last night. despite wyoming's best efforts to wipe them off the road, they made it in time to close out the show and make 29 fans happy.

i can't pretend to know them or their music. i've heard good things for a while (from who i can't recall) and i remember about a year ago when they had everything ripped off (van, trailer, equipment, three macbooks, two cameras and more). other than that i know nothing.

seems like a good time to figure them out as a band. i've known them as people for a day now and they like good movies, are quite well read and extremely polite. they love their home state but don't share a lot of its "values" and agree that touring from denver to salt lake to reno to los angeles this time of year is a battle.

"say that we're good" jokes drummer len clark and thusfar, this the only usable quote i can get in between episodes of the office.

as a band, here are the basics: colour revolt are a five-piece from oxford, mississippi. they've played with brand new, as cities burn, menomena, okkervil river, anathallo, explosions in the sky and manchester orchestra (they claim to have known lead singer andy hull since "before he had a band"). they sound like...okay seriously i've put this off for a day and i can't come up with an honest comparison. if mewithoutYou and manchester orchestra were playing an evenly matched game of baseball, cr would be in the ballpark. if the ballpark had a bluesy edge with frenetic guitars and soulful lyrics. we all agree that comparing bands is impossible and if your band is any good and necessary then there shouldn't be any comparisons anyway.

[author note: they disagree with me on this comparison, but not enough to give me a differing comparison]

cr is on fat possum records which is the happy home of andrew bird and a cacophony of borderline criminal bluesmen that they describe as being the home of "two killers" and a guy "who doesn't know how old he is."

"we just try to stay vague and hope that comes off cool" says guitarist jimmy cajoleas when trying to describe the rigors of being on a tough blues label like fat possum without actually being a blues band.

three of colour revolt are full-time students at ole miss and still find time to play 150 dates a year (which explains why they're touring salt lake in december and almost getting stuck on the back roads of wyoming). they have an ep out now and a full length available in march 2008.