Concert review: Sheer Mag w/ Pleasure Center and Hotline TNT | 10.11.23, Blueberry Hill Duck Room (with photo gallery)

The Duck Room is perhaps the perfect venue for a band like Sheer Mag. Located in the basement below the famous Blueberry Hill, a St. Louis staple since the ‘70s, it’s a dark and dimly lit space that harks back to a different time. The stone walls and framed duck-themed tchotchkes evoke an effortless vintage vibe. I simply refuse to believe there isn’t something covered in Naugahyde down there. It seems like a space tailor made for Sheer Mag’s classic rock musicianship. Thousands of notable bands and musicians have played the Duck Room over the last 30 or so years, from the late local legend Chuck Berry to Japanese noise duo Melt Banana. Sheer Mag, thankfully can now be added to that conversation.

Locals Pleasure Center started off the evening. Their approach to ‘90s indie rock was impressive and, much like Sheer Mag, they have found their inspiration in a bygone era. Guitarist Nichole Torpea’s outfit looked like something pulled off the rack at Hullabaloo and, I’m sorry to say, if you get that reference you are officially old.

Hotline TNT moved things in a different direction. They offered earplugs to the crowd before performing and I imagine there were some folks that deeply regretted not grabbing a pair. Hotline TNT was loud. Very loud. A lot of the dynamics found on their records were lost in the wall of sound and the end result sounded something like shoegaze without any reverb or delay. The few moments they stopped to tune made you understand how silence could be deafening. However, there were many moments where, despite the stage volume, things did come together and Hotline TNT sounded amazing. Singer/guitarist Will Anderson occasionally led the band with nonverbal signals which felt like I was watching a basement show jam band. It seemed, at times, that some members of Hotline TNT weren’t 100% sure what they should be playing. Yes, it was a little weird, but there was something very endearing about it all. Sometimes a band rolls into town, melts faces, and it’s not until they’ve hit the road to do it again somewhere else that you realize you’ve witnessed something that was pretty sick. Hotline TNT’s new record Cartwheel is out November 3rd on Third Man Records.

I had been wanting to see Sheer Mag live for a long while. The Philadelphia band has never stayed away from St. Louis for too long, but they always came through on a night where I had something else going on. Their debut album, 2017’s Need to Feel Your Love, is one of the best rock records of the last decade. It is an exceptional distillation of ‘70s and ‘80s classic rock mixed with some very clever DIY punk vibes. It’s familiar but also feels new. It’s not an easy thing to pull off, and it’s a huge credit to the musicianship of the band as a whole. The band kicked off their set with “Blood from a Stone” off their second record A Distant Call. From there, Sheer Mag moved into “What You Want” and “Sit & Cry” from their early EPs. Singer Tina Halladay’s signature snarl sounded amazing, like something from a record your coolest aunt, the one that says she “knows” Ron Wood, put on when you were little and set you on a path of musical discovery that would make you both the coolest and lamest kid at your very square midwestern high school. Lead guitarist Kyle Seely had impeccable guitar tone, and to see him perform with such energy and joy was a treat. Bassist, and brother of Kyle, Hart Seely, knocked out his fills and changes like a session player. Touring drummer Evan Campbell kept things tight, and looked like he was having a blast while doing it. Finally, rhythm guitarist Matt Palmer held it down in a fantastic fashion. His shaggy haircut and short beard had him looking like he came out of an original print advert for the well-worn Peavey T-60 hanging off his shoulders. One of the benefits of a live setting is hearing a different mix than what you may be familiar with and certain players or parts can stand out in a way that can be very stimulating and, here, everything popped just different enough to make some songs sound fresh and new.

Tina spoke between a few songs about an early show they had here in St. Louis back in 2013, which from her description sounded like it had taken place at the infamous (and now very gone) basement space Bonerville, where her friend broke a kneecap and she tried to buy ecstasy from a local punk. The pill she was sold, she said with a great laugh, ended up being a decongestant.

It may not have been the rowdiest show Sheer Mag ever played in St. Louis, but it lived up to all my expectations, and more. For decades, there has always been a sentiment in the zeitgeist about rock ‘n roll being dead, and sometimes it is easy to look at a copy-of-a-copy band like Greeta Van Fleet and think that it might be true. Thankfully, we have Sheer Mag keeping the light alive. | Bryan J. Sutter