Considering I drive from St Pete to Sarasota and back every day for work, there are very few things that will get my happy ass back down there, but finally seeing The Pack AD is definitely one of those things.  I’ve had to listen long enough to Autopsy brag about seeing them at Deep Blues last year, now was my turn to catch their show for myself.

The show was scheduled to start at 8 and we got there around 10, figuring that the two openers would be done and we’d be right on time to see the main act.  However, as we walked up to the venue we saw Becky and Maya (aka, The Pack A.D.) chilling out front and they advised us nobody had played yet, but that they were going on second instead of third now.  Eh, fair enough, more drinking time.  We caught a little of the opener, Mumpsy, a 4-piece who reminded me of Dr. Dog with maybe a dash of TMBG, headed to the back with our drinks for a bit, and then it was time for The Pack to take the stage.

Hot damn, these women fucking rock, plain and simple.  On stage Maya seems to be the ambassador, joking around between songs and interacting with the audience.  When she’s working those drums, though, she’s lost in the songs.  Meanwhile, Becky plays the ever living hell out of her guitar while channeling Janis Joplin with that great, big gravelly voice.  When they first took the stage I seriously thought to myself, how the hell is the voice I’ve heard on their CD’s going to come out of her?  Well it did.  All of it.  Wow.  When Maya announced that they were playing their last song for the evening I didn’t want to believe it was almost over, but that was it.  Rock and roll, cut and dry, with no pretense and apparently no encore.  If you’re lucky enough to have their tour coming your way as they head back North towards Canada, you definitely need to catch this show.

Check out The Pack AD’s website for the rest of their tour dates here
See the rest of the pix from the show here

The Pack A.D. – All Day Long
The Pack A.D. – Making Gestures
The Pack A.D. – Wolves & Werewolves

One of those bands that really caught my attention at the 2008 Deep Blues Festival was The Pack A.D. I was already a fan prior to the festival but after their set I was gung-ho.

They’ve just made a video and shipped it off to MTV and everything. So, hopefully it’ll get a chance to be one of the 3 videos MTV plays one day. Since the odds of that are about as good as Arizona’s chances of winning the Super Bowl this week I figured I’d post it here:

The Pack A.D. – Making Gestures

I’ve also managed to get an mp3 copy of The Pack A.D.’s set from the 2008 Deep Blues Festival. It was shortened because they were trying to squeeze in some bands who’s set got canceled from the rain the day before. They still managed to crush it for only having 30 minutes at 12:30 in the afternoon. Here it is if you wanna check it out:

1. Snow
2. Gold Rush
3. banter
4. All Damn Day Long
5. banter
6. Oh Be Joyful
7. banter
8. Don’t Have To Like You
9. Stalker Blues

Hopefully, I am about to get a lot more of the DBF’08 sets. I plan on posting them. I hope y’all are diggin’ them as much as I am. Also, keep in mind that some 80+ bands are gonna gather in Minneapolis this July for the 2009 version of The Deep Blues Festival. Take it from me, it’s a great fucking time that your liver will hate you for. Tickets are on sale now. I’ll be there…you should to.

“These days, it seems like
There’s a lot of girls who sing
And some of them are good
And some of them are notBut it’s always kinda cool
That moment when they first step to the mike”
~from the song “Chick Singers” by Dan Bern

It’s true, you know. I’d listened to The Pack A.D.’s new album, The Funeral Mixtape, a couple of times before I saw them at last month’s Deep Blues Festival. What I had not listened to them enough times to notice was that the lead singer was a woman. She sounds so strikingly similar to Jack White that I just assumed she was a fella. Then they announce these two women as Pack A.D. and I went all Keanu, like “Whooa”. Chicks with guitars are an immediate +10 on the sexy factor…I dunno, it’s probably Freudian or something, but I prefer to not analyze and just go with it…so back to the music.

Two girls who vocally and musically sound like The White Stripes…this is their albatross. There is no avoiding it, so I’m putting it out there for those unfamiliar. I described them like this to a friend, “If I told you it was the Elephant B-sides you’d believe me. They’re like the White Stripes minus all the Jack White self-indulgent pretentious bullshit and genre bending, with pure blues-rock added to fill the void. Less commercial, more powerful.”

The band comes outta B.C., Canada and consists of Maya Miller on drums and Becky Black on vocals and guitars. The Funeral mixtapes was recorded live off the floor which does nothing to hurt their rough and tumble swamp blues sound. The album will be released Tuesday on Mint Records. Pick it up, you’ll be glad you did.

The Pack A.D. – Making Gestures

The Pack A.D.’s Official Site, The Pack A.D. on myspace, Buy The Funeral Mixtape