Focus Group @ the Hole in the Wall 9/28/08

I didn't attend ACL this year. The only musical performance I witnessed this weekend was Focus Group, an  unknown band of 4 (formerly 5) recent students of St. Edward's. I discovered this small troupe through a friend I met at St. Ed’s who lived in my dorm freshman year. She dates a member of the band. Therein lies my bias but it's quite weak, I promise (also disregard the hour upon which I write this... I just got home).

Donald plays bass and guitar. 
Mike plays drums and bass.
Andrew plays button-machine-thing-2000 and drums. 
Seth plays trumpet and keyboard.
They used to have a permanent drummer but he moved and "got so good at drums he had to study piano, and is now so classical he's studying Mozart."

I've made it to 4.5 shows now (one got shut down by the cops - I'm just that hardcore) and they have been the undisputed highlight of every lineup. The thing that sets this act apart from other guitars, drums and keyboards is the thing-a-ma-jig that I don't know the name of (you'll find your head bobbing at high speeds). Andrew plays a small electronic... box on which he can remix sounds, produce different noises and loop all kinds of crazy beats etc. I don't know enough about music to explain all the stuff that has been explained to me but I want to be sure that I express how far this element distinguishes this Group's sound. It also helps to have a trombone player in your crew who knows what's up -- and Seth does. Each member's input politely accents each other's contribution.

It's pretty tough to explain what kind of music it is.  That's where you're in luck. Boom - listen for yourself.  I suggest "White Folk is Freaky" and "Very Truly Yours" to get you hooked.

The venue:

The Hole in the Wall is a delightful 'little' bar on Guadalupe at 24th.  Walking in, thats what it seems like but walking back, you realize how much space this establishment occupies - there are 2 indoor bars, each with its own performance stage and an outdoor bar with an entourage of many picnic tables that seem to welcome graffiti (as do the walls - but the professional kind).  The setup is very cool checkitout.