Eliminator (Ruby the Hatchet live, plus Electric Candlelight and Heavy Temple)

 

 The thrill of discovering a new (to me) band is hard to beat, but it's made even better when the band is local. A couple of months ago, my first show, post-quarantine/shutdown, etc, was a local band called Electric Candlelight. They blew me away. I was fairly well-prepared for the show to be very good. because I am familiar with their ace guitar guy, Justin Pittney, from his time in a trio of great Philly bands (Love City, Moon Women, and the Residuals) stretching back to the mid/late '00s, but I didn't know what to expect from his bandmates.

I shouldn't have wondered for a second. Every single player in that band pulled his weight to the extreme. That night, EC sounded like Temple of the Dog fronted by Paul Rodgers -- with a heavy nod to Free, a bit of Black Sabbath, and heavy psych, and, generally, with a vibe that was more time-warp than similar to anyone that I had recently heard. This single -- "Another Year Gone By" -- is still my favorite new song of 2021:

After witnessing an entire set of vintage-sounding psychedelia like that one, with those killer vocals, I was curious to know what other bands, if any, EC singer Owen Stewart was in. 

A quick search revealed that he's in Ruby the Hatchet. I looked them up on Spotify and I played a few songs. Wait, I thought, he's not the RTH lead singer? He's the drummer, and backing vocalist? And he's a hell of a drummer. And the lead singer of RTH, Jillian Taylor is crazy talented too? I was signed up for a deep dive into the RTH catalog.

And, seriously, how had I never heard of this band that's been around my fair city almost ten years? 

It was time to make up for lost time.

It turns out that like I it all. Ruby the Hatchet sound so... old. Not "old" like tired, mind you, just old, experienced, like "not of this era" -- like they are opening a bill for Deep Purple, Hawkwind, and Black Sabbath in 1973. It's not really metal, but it's heavy as hell, (but definitely more metal than Electric Candlelight). It's not just stoner rock, but it definitely has that feel at times. They aren't just a psych band, but there's a psychedelic vibe all over most of their songs. Fuuuuuuck. I was sold.

Within days, they announced an outdoor show outside the International Bar in Philly. 

I'm a moron; I missed it. The video at the top of this post is that complete show. They were on fire. Obviously.

I also noticed that they opened that show with an eight-minute blast through my favorite song of theirs: "Eliminator."

Somehow "Eliminator" does it all for me. It sludges (yes, that's a verb and I'm sticking with it) and roars; it shimmers with a repeating theme that sounds like the bastard child of "No Quarter"; later on, it rocks like hell at a faster tempo, and then returns to its lumbering, dark, dangerous ways. Jillian and Owen not only harmonize perfectly on it; they even trade off vocal lines in parts. Yes and hell yes.

Having missed that show, I was hoping that the band would be back soon. Sure enough, in no time, they announced an indoor club show -- with seriously limited attendance thanks to the pandemic, with table seating no less. Not normally a fan of sitting down at a rock show, I hesitated briefly, and then went for it. I wasn't missing Ruby the Hatchet again. I was in for July 30, 2021,  at the Ardmore Music Hall.

A few days before the show, I messaged the band, requesting (no surprise) "Eliminator." The response was fast: "We played Eliminator last show, actually!" But then, after the briefest pause: "Maybe we will bust it out again!"

They not only did just that; they opened with it again. It wasn't more than 20 seconds into the show when I said to a friend, "Holy shit! This is the song I requested!" 

I was so happy, and the rest of the show, featuring four or five new songs, was exactly what the doctor ordered. The bottom end of this band is so locked-down/tight that it gives the guitar room to explore, and the keyboards room to make everything shimmer and/or freak out when the song needs it. Joe Carducci once wrote that the most overlooked key to perfect rock is the drummer's kick/snare pattern and what the bass player does to match, or enhance it. This band has that intangible thing going on in spades. Consequently, the heavy-psych side of RTH really shines through live. And the vocals? A band would be lucky to have either Jillian or Owen as their singer. To have Jillian singing lead and Owen on backups in addition to his considerable skills on the drums is really a hell of a 1-2 combo. By the time they finished with an encore of "Tomorrow Never Comes," I was ranting and raving about how I'll be seeing them every chance I get, and my friend had come to a bold conclusion, which she declared out loud: "I don't think I can remember seeing a better frontperson than Jillian. She owns the stage." Recalling those Kill-Bill-style high leg-kicks on "Killer," I couldn't disagree. 

Huge props, by the way, to Heavy Temple for a great opening set. I haven't ventured into their catalog yet, but I will, and what I saw and heard on Friday -- a trio with power, fury, proggy twists and turns, and heavy doom and gloom, but not always, just when the songs really needed it -- was really impressive. I'll be back to see them too.

While I'm proud to call all three of these bands local, Ruby the Hatchet and Heavy Temple both tour extensively. They're not remotely just a Philly thing. I really can't recommend them highly enough -- particularly live. You can't fake what they have going on. This is organic, real, psych-heavy thunder. Get yourself some.