Aloha

Live at the Middle East, July 19 2001

Chris Dahlen

Rock can have balls but no brains. If it has brains but no balls, it's probably post-rock.

At its worst, post-rock means bands with long but grooveless instrumentals, indifferent or mumbly vocalists, or people playing quietly lit only by desk lamps. But at its best, you get a band like Aloha.

Ohio-based Aloha played an impressive debut gig in Boston last month. Aloha plays pop songs with strong hooks and impressionistic lyrics – good material by itself, but the songs are fused to an exceptional rhythm section featuring Cale Parks on drums and Eric Koltnow on, get this, vibraphone. Many bands use unusual instruments – accordion, cello, singing saw – but with the vibes, Aloha found an instrument that could embellish the melody but also bang through the rhythm parts, giving them a way to bridge the extremes of Tony Cavallario’s singing and Parks' drumming. By himself, singer/guitarist Cavallario could play a strong set with songs like the ballad "Ferocious Love" or "Roanoke Born," one of the best songs I've ever heard about a vacation job. But the patterns and force from the percussion float the material like a kite tied to a bottle rocket.

Aloha played the Middle East as the second band on a bill with the Landing, Alpha Leaf, and the Helms. Some things weren't perfect. The set-up time took longer than the set. The Middle East booked four acts—a "Monsters of Post Rock" show—each with almost no time to play, and since they're all post rock, they all had several keyboards and guitars, and Aloha had to lug the vibraphone on stage and mike it up. (At least it can't go out of tune.) It took a couple songs for the sound to work out and even then I heard a lot of guitar and drums and not much of the vibes. Also, a half-hour set doesn't leave you much room to stretch out.

That said:

Good, good times. Aloha create a massive sound onstage – too massive to use the slower numbers from their records, but this set was about rocking and winning new converts. Parks is amazing – it’s always a blast to see a great drummer in person – and he and Koltnow had several chances to stretch out, including an extended percussion duo that bookended the song "Let Your Head Hang Low."

$10 at the concession stand gets you a t-shirt, two pins, and a patch—in case you still wear a denim jacket covered with band logos—and a great split-7" with Lovesick, printed on yellow vinyl.

Related resources

Aloha's official site, including tour dates and a tour journal (get their take on this show).