Reno Bo
Happiness And Other Things
Electric Western
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Link: http://renobo.bandcamp.com

Formally of the Mooney Suzuki, Reno Bo is creating a buzz with his solo debut titled, Happenings And Other Things. This CD is like a musical variety show, concentrating on different eras of musical styles. For instance, the opening track, “There is A Light,” is a ballad with the substance to engage any classic rock fan. The second track, “Higher Tonight”, is definitely the shiner. “Off Your Back” shows some great potential with a passionate guitar solo and piano track pleasantly laid down, as does the next track (“Shine”).

It’s unfortunate that a CD with such a strong opening would end with monotonous 3 chord guitar riffs and accommodating drum beats, as the rest of the CD fails to progress. “Baby Your Not Feeling Me,” opens with a sweet harmony provided by a harmonica and is sure to act as the ultimate break-up song, or perhaps a tune one can learn in a beginner’s guitar lesson. The simplistic riffs played on an acoustic guitar blended with scratchy vocals that has a Dylan feel, is sure to grow on any folk fan.

The vocals on “Sugar Suite Blues”  are not as sharp as the mid-song guitar solo. “You Don’t Know” falls into the ’70s bubble gum pop realm. The 10th track, “Here Right Now”, sounds like something you’d hear during the opening credits of an ’80s sitcom.

It is apparent that Reno Bo’s musical influences are worn on his sleeve. There is definitely talent here although some of the songs have a rushed feeling to them, which brings one to believe that perhaps Mr. Reno was rushed in the studio or hadn’t enough time to complete this project. It would be beneficial to spend some more time in the studio  to match the talent here. Perhaps that is not the sound producers were going for.

Saturday was the night that everything seemed to be under the stars, so to speak. For Indianapolis, it was more like tucked in between a wet, foggy haze. But this is winter, and all the excitement of the weekend — from the Local Music Git Down to Radio Radio to Tonos Triad at Barley Island to DJ Kyle Long at Urban Element and so on — could have been buried beneath inches of snow. With Indiana, you just never know, and we were lucky to have such mild weather for a packed night of music in our city.

Stepping into The Vollrath, amidst John Orr (aka The Last Domino) standing on stage and strumming his guitar frantically, looping it, knocking on the wooden casing and concocting some kind of beat, while picking up his saxophone to exorcise a solo, people were abuzz. “Did you hear the mayor and his wife was here earlier!?!” No, I did not, but the day after, the club’s FaceBook page confirmed that Ballard made a visit to the southeast-side club.

Whether it phased Orr or he even knew about it is uncertain as he played a set as prominent as any other I have witnessed. It had been a while since we had a chance to gaze upon The Last Domino to be performed as a single entity. And by “Last Call” (the song, not the ritual), people showed their appreciation for his take on love and the bottle.

Maybe it was me, but it seemed that the audience was searching for a high energy rock and roll hump fest. And who can blame them with Reno Bo descending from the indie garage greats The Mooney Suzuki or his participation in The Strokes. All this was to come later, and when Holy Ghost Canyon took the stage, the musical direction shifted dramatically from Orr’s bravado to gentle musical intimacy.

What would have been a better fit in a dark coffee shop (if only Cafe Angst still existed), did not feel like a fit pairing for the night. With their haunting and dimly-lit vision of early Americana, you almost wished you could hear the ghostly echos of a steam train, yet the music was so subtle you probably could hear one pass by on the tracks nearby. I will give them credit that they were sans their drummer and Jascha’s slide guitar moved around like the smoke emitting from a wooden pipe tucked between his lips.

A short line to the bathroom gave me the opportunity to run into Reno Bo himself just before they were to go on. We talked about the city and his memory of the last time he played Birdys. He expressed an inspiring degree of gratitude towards the night’s hospitality because for Reno Bo the band, this was their first Indianapolis appearance.

When Reno’s shaggy mop top hit the stage, he was fired up to unleash classic rock and songs from their debut album Happiness And Other Things (Electric Western). They tried one song, then another to moderate success. “Higher Tonight” revved it up, sounding like a cross between some lost ’60s pop classic and something that was inspired from Friends. Then they pulled out The Stones’ “This Will Be The Last Time” to high regard. Their version of “Ventilator Blues,” not so great.

Even though some of their originals bled into the other with a consistent stream of consciousness, it was the moments when they cut loose and let the music take control when our hearts started to palpitate and Reno received nods of approval. And take the more intimate ‘70s-style hip shakers, Reno will make it feel like the end of innocence.

By the end of it all, Reno Bo may have been the band you wanted more from, but it was one of the better sounding shows I have heard echo through the club.