The Plan That Seems To Work

Pool Cleaners From Distant Planets



When I accompanied Myk and Zscaieynn to the Bluebird on April 21st, it was at the invitation of Plan B, who were looking for an opinion of their sound. I was worried at first; I'm not sure if it was the band or the venue, but there was this strange electronic noise thing happening that threw me off course for a bit. The first band was also a bit hard on all of us, which also was reason for concern. But, thankfully, I didn't get disappointed.

Plan B seems to me to be a good, solid band to go see. Their genre is metal and grunge, but, unlike a lot of examples I've seen lately, they know the difference between singing and screaming, and when each was appropriate. With one exception near the beginning, they have good handles on their transitions between songs and even within songs. Handling transitions is a sign of a band that rehearses together constantly. They also demonstrated sufficient variance between songs without being completely out of genre at the same time. Many bands lack variance of any sort, I've noticed, and their songs rapidly sound like one big song. Not Plan B. I could tell without straining when they went into a different song. All in all, they know where they want to go, and are heading there with gusto. I just had a few problems.

On their first song, there was a jarring transition that made me feel that I suddenly went from the bad part of downtown to some rural backroad. It was disconcerting, and made me wonder even more after the strange electronic noise. The singer needs to learn to 'stage dance' better; he looked at times like he was either having an epileptic fit, or was about to hurl. Speaking of dancing, the one guitarist was so energetic he was proving to be a distraction. He was moving so enthusiastically that he broke his guitar strap, something I haven't seen before. He didn't miss a lick, though, and soldiered on like a real musician.

All in all, I don't see anything that can't be fixed, and this band is a solid performer that I see capable of filling houses given a little publicity. No need to resort to your own backup plan with these guys.