The Augustines at The Independent

It's fortunate that The Augustines, a band that was recently on the verge of calling it quits, managed to find their way to recording their sophomore album, "Augustines." This past Monday night saw them in top form as Billy McCarthy (lead vocals & guitar), Rob Allen (drums) and Eric Sanderson (bass, keys & guitar) rolled through San Francisco with a stop at The Independent in San Francisco.



A tone was set for their performances right at the beginning of the evening as the house sound system played a somber, dense and building instrumental of theirs, "Highway 1 (interlude)" to a darkened stage. It's the kind of dynamic build that will eventually demand a resolution. And that resolution is The Augustines themselves as they open their show with their trademark passionate, hard driving sound and they launch into the evening. Billy comes out with his guitar in high rhythmic gear as he delivers passionate vocals sung from the heart. With some moderation, and slowing things down only briefly, that's where most of the evening would remain. Billy's vocals propelled by the band behind him make a formidable driving force, especially with the drumming style of Rob Allen. His is a sound you can feel pushing a song along, characterized by a big booming bottom end and rich rhythmic content. Their songs are larger than life; potential anthems that will immediately grab the audience and take them along. And though there was a good sized crowd on hand, it's likely the response will be stronger when they return. No doubt, this will be a band to watch.