Tonight marks that rare thing in the revival market: the return of the early 2000s. Even the ’90s are getting their due these days, but for those wishing to press ahead into the future of retro, this Friday night is your night. The Glass return to the town they started in 20 years ago.
“It’s been 15-plus years since we did this!” exclaims drummer John Argroves at the prospect of tonight’s show at B-Side. Yet the players have been recording together more recently. As Argroves explains, “Justin Lloyd [guitarist in the Glass] wrote some tunes of his own and we decided to meet him in Monticello, Mississippi, last fall to do a weekend session with the old guard. That band is Red Ocher, and the album’s called The Owl.”
As Red Ocher is also on tonight’s bill, fans of The Glass will get a double helping of sorts. Though the material and the singer for each project are unique, they sit well together. Also on the bill is Jeff Hulett, who’s been making his mark on Memphis music for more than 20 years as well, both with Snowglobe and as a solo artist. Tonight the solo artist has a full band.
For the uninitiated, the music of The Glass holds up well. The shimmering dissonances and angular harmonies in the guitar interplay provide a captivating setting for Brad Bailey’s musings, with an underlying angst that seems appropriate to this era. And the boutique label Small Batch Records agrees, having re-released the band’s 2002 debut, Concorde, only two years ago (reviewed by the Memphis Flyer at the time). Seattle-based owner Aaron Rehling has also featured Hulett on the label, 2018’s Around These Parts.
The Glass, Red Ocher, and the Jeff Hulett band play Friday, December 9th, at B-Side Memphis, 8 p.m.