3rd Exit - Duke O'Brien's 9.7.07

Duke's may be hurting over there. I went in Friday night to see 3rd Exit, and there was about 25 people in the band area, a big group upstairs for what was probably a private party and about 15 people sitting at the bar. A few more people came in as I was leaving but this is not the Dukes one was used to experiencing (probably due to some local outside influences) but it's still the only place in town for live music. It's just that no bands can make any real money there any more.

I kind of really like these guys but they're definitely still in the seasoning process. They are not a bunch of 20-something guys obviously but they do sound good together and they have some great possibilities.

Since I really kind of like these guys, constructive criticism only. They are a Class C band on the Bandstalker listing. Drummer - good and more than adequate to do fine with this type of material. Bassist - good and he'll be fine. Guitar player - I think he had some strange choices of tone for many of the songs and especially for his solos, which were not real strong. Singer - good but think about either changing the keys of some of these nearly impossible-songs-to-sing-unless-you-are-22-years-old songs, tune everything down a half-step to give the singer half a chance, or don't do them. Rock and Roll - Led Zep - obviously too high for any normal human. Change the key or capo it. Nobody in the audience will know what's going on. Great job on the Live song. There's your key! Don't open the night with tunes that are strained-sounding. Maybe save those for the end of the night when everyone's inebriated and wouldn't know anyway.

All in all, they're a little rough but I really do like these guys and they are taking on some good material. The cardinal rule of bands, work within your capabilities. Know your limits in the beginning and work within them - that's when you sound the best. When the core 30 or so tunes are solid, then reach out for the chancy stuff. Keep it up! http://www.myspace.com/thirdexit