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Buffalo News
Toni Ruberto


Showplace Theatre:
Guided By Voices

Indie-rock fans were handed a double treat when two icons performed
at the Showplace Theatre Saturday night. It's been a long wait
to see Guided By Voices, led by the estimable Robert Pollard,
and Those Bastard Souls with Dave Shouse, who played Buffalo
once years back with The Grifters.

The double-draw packed the Showplace with a crowd filled with
musicians and industry folks, including some from as far away
as Toronto.

Pollard and his latest Guided By Voices lineup worked through
the enormous scope of his written material - hundreds of songs
may be a bit of an understatement - to satisfy a vocal crowd
that conversed en masse with Pollard between songs.

Pollard's vocals ranged from a fake British accent to a sweet
pop styling as he saw fit. The guitar sounds changed as often
as his vocals, from the dark clunkiness of "In Stitches," to
the catchy rock riff of the new "Do Something Real."

The amazing six-piece band Those Bastard Souls opened the night.
The group is a visual wall of sound with five of the musicians
standing in a line performing full force on keyboards, violin,
guitars and bass.

"The Last Thing I Ever Wanted Was to Show Up and Blow Your Mind"
was slow, dark and moody; a thick bass line drove the heavy melody
of "Curious State"; and "Train from Terminal Boredom" was loud
and rockin' with the instruments pulsating in unison.