Last night I went to the El Rio to see Dolorata. Dolorata is an all-female garage rock band from the Bay Area - two of the members were previously in the band 4 Non-Blondes.
First of all, my friends flaked on me - I mean they didn’t return two phone calls. So I decided to go it alone and I jumped on the 24 Divisadero bus and rode all the way to Mission and 30th reading my book. Then I jumped on a 14 Mission bus to Precita (pretty interesting reading, eh?).
I got to El Rio at about 9:45 pm and the first band was just doing a sound check. I sat down in a chair on the porch outside in the cold and waited patiently for the show to begin. It started a little after 10:00, and the first band was not very memorable - I can’t even remember their name. It was a duo, both on acoustic guitars with female vocalist singing sappy songs in two chord progressions.
Dolorata came on about 11:00 and they rocked from start to finish. Their songs are gritty, well performed and the musicianship is great. The violin player - who is fantastic and very interesting to watch - uplifts them from a good garage rock band to something sublime or (in the least) it adds a unique twist. I really enjoy their live show, I have seen them twice now. I am curious how their record - which is supposed to come out in the Summer (I think) - will compare. If it is as powerful as their live show I will definitely play it the radio.
The audience was a good crowd and really into Dolorata. I was standing in the back and I see and feel the energy flowing through the place. It was a fun show.
Afterwards, I had an uneventful ride home, following the same path which led me there. The busses were quite empty for a Saturday night at midnight.