Thunder Road

Photo caption: Dead Meadow, Sleepy Sun heat up the stage at Henry Miller Library. Nic Coury

Dead Meadow, Sleepy Sun heat up the stage at Henry Miller Library.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Back in March of 2007, Dead Meadow rolled into Fernwood Bar like a thundercloud. Encased in clouds of fog spouted from an active smoke machine, the band veered from spaced out jams to thundering riffage augmented by a light show that lit up, the stage like lightning. That performance of the famed Matador Records band – who mixes psych rock, shoegazer and hard rock – was without guitarist/vocalist Jason Simon, who was ill at the time. Now, local audiences can finally see Dead Meadow with Simon.

This means attendees will be able to hear fully intact versions of songs like “Let’s Jump In,” the simmering opener to their great 2005 CD, Feathers, where heavy riffs in the song’s final section emerge from thick guitar sludge. Also, hopefully, the band will perform the psych pop number “At Her Open Door” or “Such Hawks Such Hounds,” where Simon’s half-buried vocals bring to mind British shoegazer acts like Ride.

Equally thrilling is the Santa Cruz by way of San Francisco act, Sleepy Sun. Having graced the stage at Big Sur’s Fernwood before, the up-and-coming band, just mentioned in Details magazine, also puts on an exhilarating show. Frequently performing with wild garb and face paint, vocalists Bret Constantino and Rachel Williams’ voices twine together on songs like the Brightblack Morning Light-inspired “New Age,” while on the “Duet With the Northern Sky,” they trade lines over acoustic guitar and percussion. Their best number yet is the piano ballad “Lord,” which features a great guitar solo that spirals out from the song.

DEAD MEADOW AND SLEEPY SUN play 3pm Friday, July 31, at Henry Miller Library, located a quarter mile south of Nepenthe Restaurant on Highway 1, Big Sur. $25. 667-2574.