Photos by Matt Kelley
I didn’t really have too much in the way of expectations before seeing Tennis for the first time last week. I kinda prefer that sometimes, less pre-determined biases to validate or fight off. This can make reviewing bands somewhat more difficult – a blank slate vs. a modicum of defined constructs that helps with noting observations. That said, I was more than pleasently surprised by what I heard. Nothing more obvious than the full bodied voice of Alaina Moore.
On record it sounds much thinner than reality. The girl can sing, no doubt about that. You know what else there’s no doubt about? How I got incredibly ill while at the Tennis show. I was fighting off a stomach bug that creeped in that afternoon. I completely underestimated the gravity of my situation when deciding to head to the Hi-Dive to experience this much hyped band. Unfortunately for me, the bug won out despite my best attempts at holding it together. Did you see a pale-faced dude looking like he was about to pass out doing a zombie walk through the crowd? That was me. Luckily, Swankster photographer Matt Kelley was in fine health and volunteered to pick up the slack….
In addition to what Merry Swankster had stated in the previous posting, I too found myself listening to Tennis Cape Dory in the run-up to last week’s show. While doing so, I was getting more and more enthused about the band. This was my first visit to the Hi-Dive and I was amazed at the amount of people who showed up. For a band that has not felt very accepted by their local scene, a sold out show indicated otherwise.
