Climate control

I liken last Thursday’s concert at Off Limits to the weather we’ve been having lately. Openers Deerpen began the evening with its moody rock—sort of the gray skies if you will, while Aqueduct brought the sun with its keyboard-drenched pop. And, I enjoyed the contrasting temperatures quite a bit.

Chico’s Deerpen, now veterans of the scene, played a solid set of minor-chord-laden rock, highlighted by vocalist/guitarist Rett Mathews’ impressive set of pipes. Songs like the stellar “Amoeba” and new ones like “Penage,” which incited a dance-off between bassist Bill Parnell and audience members, were demonstrative of the band’s songwriting ability. Deerpen is set to begin laying it down in the studio in late May.

Aqueduct, which used to be the one-man act of David Terry, is now a Seattle (via Oklahoma) trio garnering some national attention for its poppy hybrid of Weezer and The Beach Boys. The group made an appearance on Late Night with Conan O’Brien a few months ago and is touring with bands like Rilo Kiley and Interpol in support of its Barsuk Records release, I Sold Gold.

At times Terry’s smooth vocals conjured up visions of Brian Wilson, complemented by synth, drums, bass and the occasional guitar and drum loops. Aqueduct even rocked a perfect version of The Geto Boys’ “Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta,” before ending the night with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'.”

“Don’t be embarrassed, everybody loves this song,” assured Terry. And, there was no doubt that everybody did. Nice work by Spencer Crooks and Chico State’s KCSC for bringing the show together.