[ Features Index | East Bay | Metroactive ]

Greg (left) and Thom are the Moore Brothers. Fraternal Charm The Moore Brothers, Bart Davenport, and Languis at the Starry Plough, Sat/20 By Leigh Saffold Laurel and Hardy, Oscar and Felix, Click and Clack ... I don't know what it was about Saturday night that got me so giddy about those Moore Brothers, but the comedy team associations wouldn't quit. Maybe it had to do with being the only critic in a bar filled with devotees. Apparently the two have been playing music together since they were kids, and yet the way they're still genuinely charmed by each other's quirks, it's hard not to fall prey to their bewitching. Alternating lead and backup with every song, the two passed one acoustic guitar between them in classic slapstick fashion. The strap even caught on Thom's ear occasionally, but then that only added to the delight and humor of the performance. Delight because it wasn't all comedy, there was some very serious folk music happening on stage as well. With early Beatles, Elvis Costello, even XTC as obvious musical influences, the Moore Brothers pull off an authenticity uncommon to many of the local-hero folk rockers. A certain imperfection in both their strumming -- especially Greg's -- and vocals -- especially Thom's high notes -- is comforting alongside their soft melodies and genuine lyrics. The brothers bring a little of home with them up on stage and invite the audience in. Their homeyness received a warm welcome following the opening acts: slick Argentina-born synthesizer duo Languis, and the return performance of Bart Davenport. After living for a spell in Seattle, Davenport admitted his nervousness at playing his first hometown show in a while. To calm his nerves, he took an onstage break after his first songs. Between swigs from a pint glass, Davenport told a story of spending an evening in this very same pub as a five-year-old watching cartoons. "Now that's hella old school!" The Berkeley reference solicited a few whoops and hollers from the audience and he began again. Davenport, alone on a stool with a guitar and a voice, delivered bittersweet romance. His dimples and honeyed melodies are deeply convincing, but the '60s pop persona and refined musicianship endow Davenport with an untouchable, rock-star air, even in his hometown pub. A quality the opening duo, Languis, surprisingly lacked. Send two musicians onstage with a synthesizer and a couple of guitars and you're bound to experience one of two things: a slick, hi-fi musical odyssey, or the feeling you've just walked into the dorm room of two computer science majors. The Languis experience was closer to the latter. Sitting on chairs at a small table opposite each other, the synthesizer facing the audience, the duo didn't once turn their heads. Nodding and whispering across the table, Alejandro Cohen and Marcos Chloca sent glowing waves of noise from their tabletop out to the audience. While the music was at times mesmerizing, the performance was not. The Starry audience warmed up with the succession of performers Saturday night. By the time the Moore Brothers nodded their final thank yous and pitched their new album, it was endearing that they had only vinyls to sell. [ East Bay | Metroactive | Archives ]